There are no days off in Terraria
by thecupcakefox
Summary: There comes a point when the hero thinks she's reached a state of comfortability. Her goal was to keep her villagers safe. She never expected King Slime to join them, and she would never be prepared for the calamities of hard mode. Player x King Slime
1. Chapter 1

Hello! I'm writing this casually. It's actually to make myself play less Terraria. But, I hope you can get some enjoyment out of it.

It's bound to be full of errors, so let me know and I'll fix it when I can. :)

* * *

I could tell by the sound of my pickaxe hitting the stone that there was something on the other side. An opening, I figured, with a lot of space. I braced myself. I had passed large pools of lava on my dig down, and I didn't want to break through the stone only to find myself drowning in it.

Taking a deep breath, I broke away some of the stone, not enough for me to fall through. Light shone through the hole, but I couldn't see any lava, fortunately. In fact, there seemed to be more stone that I could land on, below. I let out that breath.

Breaking the remaining rock, I allowed myself to fall through, readying my Frostspark Boots, in case I suddenly had to leave. Behind me was a wall, and before me was a ledge, but it wasn't made of stone, as I had initially thought it was. It was made of ash.

The atmosphere was filled with it. It was stifling. I've always had a tolerance for heat, but this place, whatever this place was, was suffocating me with dry heat.

Finally, it hit me. The pools of lava, the heat, the ash… I had reached the Underworld. Jamal was obsessed with this place, lately – all he would ever talk about was how he'd like to shoot up a voodoo doll of the guide. I hadn't taken him seriously. He and Jarut were in the habit of talking a lot of smack without actually ever leaving the homes I built for them.

I inched my way over to the ledge. I'm unashamed to admit I was scared. I had no idea what kind of creatures would in habit this kind of place. That, and I was wary of more lava.

A red stem that had previously gone unnoticed bloomed at my feet. It was a flower. By that, I mean it was about to go in my garden. I slashed at it with my still handy pickaxe and collected the seeds. Then, I made the judgement call to keep my Blade of Grass handy, instead.

Closer to the ledge I crept, until I could peer over the ledge.

Yep. More lava. But there were masses of ash, too, that I thought I could land on and use to navigate if I was careful. And, were those… buildings? Black towers in the Underworld?

Before I could get a proper look, a flaming bat ripped around the ledge and aimed itself directly at my face. In shock, I screamed and flailed with my sword. It died after three swipes but it managed to scratch me up a bit. And the bastard burned me!

"Crap!" I exclaimed, examining the burns. Jenna was not going to be impressed. "There's no way I can go down there, right now," I told my baby Eater. It continued its purposeless meandering without so much as looking at me. "Okay, well, goodbye, this place."

I looked into the Ice Mirror and was very ready to plop down on the bed behind me as soon as I had been transported. But, my newfound treasures in my pockets were making me restless and I didn't rest long before I was bounding out of my room to the Guide.

"Steve!" I called, hoping down the remaining stairs. He was chatting with the Merchant, Wilbur, in the room of my horrendous horde of, well, everything I owned. I had fourteen chests set up in that room in an attempt to keep all materials organized. "Oh, sorry to interrupt," I added as I skidded through the door.

Steve turned his head to look at me. He had his fist out, and I wondered why, until Wilbur smacked his hand.

"Paper!" Wilbur declared, "You owe me two silver."

"I never agreed to gamble," Steve grumbled and left the still-bellyaching Merchant to talk to me. "What can I do for you, Mensa?"

"I need to know what I can do with this," I give him a piece of obsidian I had obtained. He took it.

"Where did you get this?" His eyes were wide. He looked… scared? "Where you in the Underworld?"

"No, not yet," I answered, "too much lava. Why? What's wrong?"

I waited for a moment while he regained his composure.

"Nothing," he said, handing the obsidian back to me. "Look… There's a lot you can make with this. Furniture, mostly, but you'll want to make and Obsidian Skull and combine it with your Water Walking Boots, right away."

"Okay," I said, pocketing the material once more. "Are you okay?"

Steve brushed past me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired. I'm gonna go have a nap."

I looked to Wilbur, who just shrugged.

* * *

The Tinkerer's Workshop was at Grodax's house, given that he was the one who sold it to me. His place was actually next to the main house – it was an apartment complex, but it was empty except for him and Jamal. Steve was always telling me about new villagers that might come, and I wanted to make sure I had space to accommodate them when they arrived.

I hopped through the trapdoor I left on the roof and knocked on his door.

"Hey, Mensa," he greeted me.

"Hey, can I use the workshop? I gotta combine these," I showed him the boots and the skull. "And then I'll probably need you to reforge them – to be warding, if I can afford it."

"Sure. You know, you can always buy another one for the house, if you want," he let me pass.

"There's not really any room, Grodax," I told him for what felt like the hundredth time, "Besides, I like checking up on you and Jamal. Make sure you're still getting along."

He shook his head and crossed his arms.

"Sure we get along… when he's around."

I looked at him curiously and drop my boots and the skull on the table.

"When he's around?" I repeated.

"Yeah. But, he's been going out with Jenna a lot."

"You mean he has appointments with her?" I asked. Jenna had asked me if Jamal talked about seeing her, before. Grodax grinned at me.

"Sure, they make _appointments_."

"Haha," I laughed sarcastically, "So, what, are they dating?"

"I don't know. He talks about hitting on Alalia, too, so…"

"If he upsets my nurse, I will, in turn, be upset," I growled and started working on the boots. Grodax stood by and watched. I was certain he was better at this than I was, but we both thought it important that I figure it out on my own.

"Why do you wear that?" he asked. I looked down.

I wore Meteor armour for protection, but decorated myself with the ninja armour. I had my Worm scarf dangling from my neck, but I was using too much equipment, so I just kept it handy. A Shield of Cthulu, Tiger Climbing Gear, and Water Walking Shoes (soon to be Lava Waders!) were all that were visible aside from my ninja gear and scarf. Everything was dyed with Reflective Obsidian dye.

"I dunno… I need most of this stuff," I answered simply.

"Sure, but the ninja stuff…? You could wear anything over top."

"Yeah, but I like the _ninja stuff_. I got it from the Slime King. Why are you asking, anyway?" My tone edged towards annoyance and Grodax threw up his hands in defence.

"I was just curious! Jamal brought it to my attention, is all. He mentioned that you don't really dress like a girl."

"I dyed it purple, didn't I?" I snapped. "Even my Shadow Orb is bright purple."

"I was just wondering, is all! I thought perhaps you were worried about unwanted attention. And with Jamal, I'm not surprised."

I took a deep breath and finished up on the boots. They looked pretty much the same, except for the orange skull and band across them. Not a huge fan of orange, I slipped them on and let the dye take over.

"Sorry, Grodax. Wilbur called me scrawny, once, and I don't much care for being judged by my looks."

"Well, your armour suits you, well, then."

I apologized again, and he assured me everything was fine.

* * *

After showing the boots to Steve, he suggested that I combine them with a Lava Charm. Now, I could explore the Underworld with minimal threat from lava. I opened the latch of the trapdoor to my elevator – a Hellevator, now, I suppose – and said goodbye to Steve.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay," I told him. He smiled sadly at me and nodded. I didn't know what was wrong with him, but I figured I'd better keep a close eye on him, in the future.

Down the chute I went. I felt uneasy passing the Marble Cave, but my fall was fast enough that no Medusa or Hoplite caught sight of me.

I entered an obsidian building and looted through their golden chest when a couple demons harassed me. I dodged their scythes by ducking behind walls and closing the doors, opening them only to shoot them with my Diamond Staff from a distance. No way was I getting close to those guys.

Hellbats and Lava Slimes chased me from room to room, but I could fend them off easily enough. Probably the biggest pain in the ass were the Fire Imps. I didn't even know they were there until their fire passed through the walls to hit me.

When I got to the bottom floor, I dug through the bricks, not so afraid of lava, anymore. I was surprised to see glistening metal behind it. It was an ore of some sort. My pickaxe could break it, but the ore leaked lava as it did so. I collected what ore I could find within a reasonable reach.

When I was satisfied with my loot, I exited the building. I saw another Demon headed my way, but it was carrying something disturbing: the Guide voodoo doll.

Jamal's information was right.

I wanted to run from the Demon to the next building, but I didn't like seeing Steve's body hanging from his feet.

Three spinning, purple, magic projectiles appeared, and I realized I'd have to either run or fight. Checking the doll one more time, I braced myself. I would retrieve that doll for myself and ask Steve about it – and be sure not to let Jamal see it.

The Demon's magic was fast to move and I hopped out of the way, but my Frostspark Boots weren't fast enough to dodge all three. The magic tore through my body. My armour took some of the damage, but it still burned all over.

The Demon flew over to me – I hated enemies that could fly – and I tried to keep it at bay with my sword. I fell back down to the roof and went back to my staff. It swooped over the edge of the building, recoiling from my attacks. I rushed to hit it again, but stopped myself. If I killed the Demon, now, it would drop the doll into the lava and I wouldn't be able to retrieve it.

So I waited – and I _hated_ waiting to be attacked – until the Demon flew over my head, again. I could see it summoning its magic and shot it down as quickly as I could. The burning sensation from its previous attack was still taking its effect, and I wasn't ready to be bombarded with more.

When the Demon died, it dropped the doll, as I'd hoped, and I caught it. I was distressed to see that its magic projectiles didn't die with it. They remained, spinning like a sawblade, before taking off. To my relief, without anything controlling them, they took off in random directions and I was safe.

* * *

Soon after, I returned home. The Underworld was fascinating and exciting, and I was certain that I could find some useful materials, there, but it was also scary and dangerous. Hopefully, with this new ore, I could make better armour, and then I wouldn't have to be so intimidated by Hell.

Jenna was in my room, as she often was, because of the bed. She gasped when she saw me.

"My goodness!" she exclaimed as she checked over my wounds, "I'm good, but I'm not _that_ good." I didn't ask her to heal me, though, as I wasn't headed anywhere unsafe any time soon.

I ran downstairs where I hoped to find Steve walking around. I saw Wilbur, first.

"Where's Steve?" I asked. The Merchant nodded noncommittally at Steve's door. I was thankful that he didn't add a sarcastic remark asking where I expected him to be. Honestly, Steve runs around the house and grounds as much as I do. It really causes a problem when enemies are near. I didn't expect him to be shut away in his room during the day.

I certainly didn't expect to find him sitting with his head in his hands at his table, but that's how I found him.

"Steve, seriously. What's going on with you?" I asked. The villagers depended on me to keep them safe and, as far as I was concerned, mental wellness was just as important as bodily injury.

When he heard me, he smiled and stood, but I could tell he was putting on a brave face. It was as if he was as injured as I was, but I couldn't see any wounds seeping through his clothes.

"It's nothing, I promise. Just a little sick."

"Sick?" I asked, and he nodded. "I'd feel better if you visited Jenna about it. I'll even pay, if you want."

"I'm sure that's not necessary," he scratched the back of his head. "If it gets worse, I promise I'll talk to her, okay?"

Satisfied temporarily, but making a mental note to not leave his side at night, I showed him what I found.

"Think I can make anything out of this stuff?" I ask excitedly. Steve and I had a lot of fun looking through the things I found. He was an expert at crafting and didn't mind explaining everything to me again and again, no matter how forgetful I was.

He checked the materials over. I tried not to make a mess of the table and didn't throw any of the furniture I found on it.

"You were in the Underworld, weren't you?" he asked.

"Yes. Is that okay?"

"Yeah… The ash is mostly cosmetic. You can make stucco with it, if you want. But, it's the Hellstone ore that you'll want. It takes a Hellforge to work with, though. And…"

He picked up the doll.

"I didn't make that!" I blurted, before I realized that he probably didn't think that I did. "Um, but, isn't it messed up? I saw a Demon carrying it around."

The Guide didn't say anything. He dropped the doll back on to the table as if it bit him. I was quite sure the doll didn't move. I picked it up, if only to confirm to myself that it wasn't burning.

"Steve?" I asked. His eyebrows were knit and he stared intently at the doll. "I don't know what it means. Do you? Steve?"

He didn't speak, but he slowly shook his head.

"Well, I want to make sure Jamal doesn't a hold of it. Do you want to keep it?"

For a moment, he held out his hand and considered taking it. But, he retracted it when I offered it to him.

"No, you should…" he trailed off, his voice was quiet. Then, he cleared his throat and spoke in his more normal tone. "You should keep it on you."

I had no idea where he got the idea that I would keep it on my person, but I decided to store it safely, anyway. I wasn't going to carry it around with me – it was super creepy – but, I would keep it safe, in case we ever needed it.

* * *

I decided to take the next day off. It was exhausting and still a little frightening to think of the Underworld. I wouldn't say that I hated it, there, but I wasn't in a rush to get back.

Besides, I wasn't sure which I should craft, first… Molten Armour would take a lot of Hellstone to complete. Steve was adamant about making a Fiery Greatsword, for some reason, but he wouldn't tell me why. Personally, I was excited about the Imp Staff – it would be my first ever minion, and I'd feel much safer with my own Fire Imp covering my back.

So, I would take a day off – a well-deserved day off, if I may say so – until I was sure about what I was mining for.

In my room, I considered my wardrobe. Scarlett said I could use a new style, and Grodax's comments were bothering me. Did I need to be feminine? I was content as I was, wasn't I? So, why was I even questioning it? Would I know fashion if I saw it? Style seemed to come so naturally to Jenna and Scarlett, but not to me. If I asked them for help, would they take pity and help me? Or, would they laugh at me?

I settled on getting a haircut, even though I could already hear Scarlett scoffing as I donned armour, once more. It wasn't my fault. I had to be efficient, too. The fact that I might have wanted to be a little… _girly_ … could be my secret.

Scarlett happily styled my hair. It was naturally purple, but she seemed so impressed at how I kept up with my roots, I decided not to comment that, as far as I knew, I was born with it.

"I was thinking it should probably be short," I told her, "because of my armour?" I added when she put her hands on her hips.

"You sure you have the face for that?" she asked. I squirmed.

"Well… if it has to be long, I'd like it to be easy to manage."

She settled on a ponytail that she told me would be low-maintenance.

I thanked her and paid her. I picked up my helmet.

"Oh, you're not going to wear _that_ , are you? I just fixed your hair! I thought it was your day off. At least keep your hair nice for today."

I looked at my helmet. If it was only for today, that would be okay, right?

"Well, alright," I resigned to put the helmet under my arm.

"Great," she chirped. "Trust me, you'll like it. Nothing feels better than wearing professional, freshly-styled hair."

Steve ran in the room.

"Did you see?" he asked me.

Scarlett muttered something about knocking and privacy and split-ends.

"See what?" I asked.

"It's raining slime, out there. I mean- we can handle slime, but I thought you should know, in case…"

In case _he_ showed up. I nodded and pulled my helmet out from under my arm. I gave an apologetic glance to Scarlett, who scoffed and threw her arms above her head.

So much for a day off.


	2. Chapter 2

Day 2 of this fic! Hopefully doing well, so far.

* * *

Forcing my hair into my armour, I ran outside. Sure enough, Slimes were falling from every direction. Despite the displeasure of finding out that I wouldn't get some time off, this was a pretty exciting way to spend the day – and it was productive. There was no better opportunity to collect gel than when Slimes rained from the sky.

There was a rope in the middle between two of the apartment buildings, and I climbed it up to the area that I built in the sky. It was important to me that all battles took place far away from the villagers, even though they had weapons and defences of their own. They weren't warriors – that was my job – they were civilians.

By now, Slimes didn't present much of a challenge, to me. Between the Diamond Staff and my Blade of Grass, collecting gel was nothing more than a fun, little task. However, given that I wasn't concerned for my own health, I found myself somewhat distracted by other ideas.

Should I have left Steve alone? Should I go back and ask someone to watch after him? What's the deal with the creepy voodoo doll?

But why was I even thinking of that? Wasn't this my day off of worrying about the Underworld?

Do I really get days off?

In my more serious thoughts, a Slime jumped on my back. My armour took the damage for me, but I felt a little silly. Imagine being snuck up on by a Slime! Some hero I was.

Maybe I wouldn't have a day off, per se, but there was no way that I would be Underground on a day like today. That would be a wasted opportunity for hundreds of gel. Not to mention, I could see the Slime King, again – and receive a Treasure Bag from _him_.

Just then, I realized that, while I used the Slimy Saddle, Slime Hook, and Ninja Armour from the Slime King, I never used the Royal Gel. By the time I could actually beat the Slime King, Slimes were no longer something I struggled to kill, and the idea of making them friendly seemed unnecessary. What would that do, anyway? They'd probably still hurt me if they landed on me, accidentally, right? Someday, I supposed, I would test it out.

The sun had not set when I sensed _his_ arrival. The Slime King had awakened.

If he found my matching attire strange, he didn't show it by any definition. He just started hopping his way towards me the moment he spawned.

It was time to use Slime against Slime. I hopped on to my Slimy Saddle and jumped on King Slime's head. It was always a little disorienting, at first, and I found myself falling off of him just out of my lack of control. The King's smaller minions posed no threat, but his spiked slimes had ranged weapons that managed to get me. Still, minimal damage with my armour.

After falling off for a third time, the Slime King almost hopped on me, but I dashed out of the way (using Cthulu's shield) just in time. I pulled myself together and hopped on him once more, determined not to fall off, again.

Out with my Diamond Staff. The king wouldn't last long, now. I barraged him with missile after missile and watched as he shrank in size.

But, then, nothing. I was out of mana. Rats… Space Gun it was, then. At least mana wasn't an issue with Meteor Armour, but it wasn't as strong as the Diamond Staff.

By now, the Slime King and I had made it to the edge of the arena, where I had built a tower (I thought it looked cool, but I now realize that it was totally unnecessary,) and he was stuck in the entrance. I was sure he was about to teleport away, so I hopped off and concentrated my shots at the smaller Slimes he summoned.

As I predicted, the king got frustrated with being stuck in the tower and teleported away. I ran in the other direction. It was still stressful when he teleported – he made it a habit to teleport right on top of me and squish me into his slimy exterior. Ew? And ouch.

He appeared behind me as I was fleeing. When I checked over my shoulder, he was chasing me. He was so much smaller than when he first appeared. Why is it that he keeps coming back, anyway?

My mana had recovered, so I hopped back on his head and pulled out my staff. But, his smaller body was much faster, now. I wasn't able to stay on him for longer than one or two jumps.

I hopped off of him and opted, instead, to shoot at him from a distance to avoid his spiked slimes. I had to keep running as he kept speeding up, but was persistent in shooting him, switching to the Space Gun, when necessary.

Finally, his Slime exterior popped and he disappeared from existence. I took care of the remaining slimes and grabbed the Treasure Bag he left behind. If I didn't open it, I could maybe mount it up in my room. And, it's not like there would an item in the bag that I didn't already have. I decided not to open it, but to see if I could hang it on my wall. If I couldn't, I'd open it. If I could mount it, but later decided I wanted the treasures, I could always take it down.

Around me, Slimes stopped falling from the sky. I was surprised to find myself disappointed. It was actually kind of pretty to see them and all their colours falling everywhere. Maybe I really would wear the Royal Gel, next time it rained Slimes.

And do what? I don't know. Enjoy the rain? Play with the Slimes?

Someday, there wouldn't be so much urgency surrounding resources. I would defeat the Skeletron, as Steve advised me to, and all the villagers would be free. I could build a safe home for everyone and I wouldn't have to fight and mine, anymore. Then, I wouldn't need to use gel. That's when I could play with the Slimes. Right.

* * *

When I got back home, there were coins lying around the house. Apparently, Steve had opened the door and some Slimes, who had been angrily waiting outside, got in. Steve sheepishly apologized to me, but I didn't mind, so long as everyone was okay. I checked on Jarut, Hiram, Jenna, Scarlett, Alalia, and Timmy. They all lived in the house. Then, I went next door and checked on Grodax and Jamal. Everyone was fine.

I went to Steve's room to hang out with him.

"You didn't get hurt too badly, did you?" he asked me. I laughed and shook my head.

"Not at all. It only gets easier," I grinned at him.

"Well, it's nice to see you with some confidence," Steve said. "When we first met, you were so fearful. Not a coward – I don't mean that – but, you wanted so desperately to protect me, but you seemed so sure you would fail."

"I was pretty sure I was going to die," I laughed, "I remember the first time I was attacked. I was chopping down a tree and a Slime got me. I panicked and didn't even think to draw my shortsword, I just chopped at the Slime."

"I know! I could hear you screaming from where I was!"

"I kept running from the Slime, but it was chasing me… All the while I never thought to switch to my sword." I buried my head in my hands and sat at the fireplace. Steve sat next to me. I chuckled at him. "I was such a moron."

"And now, you say that King Slime himself is an easy match for you?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. I guess I'm doing better, huh?"

All the while, Steve was smiling, but I couldn't help thinking that he still looked a little sad.

"You're not… still sick, are you?" I asked, tentatively. Whatever had been bothering Steve, he hadn't opened up about, so far. I wasn't sure why, but I didn't want to disrespect his boundaries.

"I'm fine, actually," he told me.

"You seem unwell, though."

"But I'm healthy."

"You seem _unhappy_ , though." I paused in thought, a moment, and then added, "It's _obvious_ that something is wrong." Strong people like Steve might try and hide what's bothering them in order to protect others, but, _sometimes_ , I have success in getting them to open up if I say 'obviously, something is wrong,' because, then, they don't think they can hide it, anymore.

Steve sighed. I tensed up. It felt like he was going to finally let me in on what was going on with him.

"I'm thinking that you won't be needing me much longer," he told me.

"What!" I sputtered. "Of course I need you! I'll need you forever. How am I going to craft anything, without you? Do you honestly think I remember how to make a- like, uh, a _Thorns Potion_ , for example? What is it, bottled water, a thorn, a stinger, and a, uh, a… Blink…root?" At that, he chuckled.

"A Deathweed, actually. And you forgot cactus."

"See what I mean? I'll always need you."

"I guess I meant that I will probably be moving on."

I didn't know what to say to that. I just stared at him, hoping I didn't look as horrified as I felt. He wanted to leave?

"Where will you go?" I asked him.

"There will be other Guides to help you with things, Mensa," he put an arm around me. I could hardly feel it through my armour, but, emotionally, I felt like I was breaking down.

"You want to leave?" I asked.

"No, of course not."

"Good. Then don't! Please… You were the first friend I made."

"And you were mine."

"Sometimes, I think you're the only friend I ever made."

"That's not true, Mensa."

"It feels like the other villagers don't even like me."

"Come on, you know that's not true."

I was tearing up, now, and I was sure Steve could see it, even through my Ninja mask. I took it off, along with my Meteor Helmet to wipe my eyes. I looked at Steve, who, now, looked very worried.

"We'll be okay, Mensa. And, I promise, I'll stay with you as long as I live."

That was reassuring for me. I smiled and, when he returned the gesture, I sensed that he was sincerely smiling, now. It was touching that he was willing to stay with me for the rest of his life. So long as I was his protector, that was bound to be a long time.

* * *

As I hung up the Treasure Bag – it turns out I _could_ do that – I was reminded of the boss I got it from.

Something disturbed me about the Slime King. He definitely wasn't a Slime. There was a man, in there. Why did he keep fighting me? What did I do to him? Could he not, I dunno, stop attacking me, for once? I mean, if he wanted, I would forgive him for attacking me in a heartbeat. He could move in – I had plenty of extra rooms prepped for any new villagers.

I could protect him. The Corruption was spreading, according to Alalia, and, despite my best efforts, Purification Powder and Grass Seeds were doing little to stop it. Did he know that the corruption stopped Slimes from spawning? I could use his assistance. And, more likely, he could use mine. I was going to purify the world. Wouldn't that be in his interest, too?

I sighed and left the Treasure Bag on the Item Frame. What was I thinking? The Slime King was an enemy. He would never join me. All this was just wishful thinking. I checked my armour and gear. I guess it was easy to see – I admired the Slime King. He wasn't the most formidable enemy I had fought, but there was something special about him – the way the Slimes fought for him and the ferocity he used to fight for them… I just wished we could be allies.

An idea occurred to me. I hopped down the stairs, past a sleeping Merchant, into my storage room. I opened the chest labeled "equipment" and pulled out the Royal Gel.

From now on, I would wear it… at least when I wasn't wearing flippers.


	3. Chapter 3

I promised myself not to cry in front of the villagers, anymore – not even Steve, if I could help it. It was my job to protect them and make them feel safe in a world that wasn't, really.

Over the next week, I went to the Underworld many times. I collected enough Hellstone to create armour, new gear, and an Imp Staff. Steve suggested I turn my new Fiery Greatsword into a Night's Edge by combining it with my old Blade of Grass, a Light's Bane, and a Muramasa, but I couldn't. I had no idea where to find a Muramasa. For now, I was content with the burning effects of my Fiery Greatsword.

The world, outside, was alight with burning Zombies and Demon Eyes and I might have been enjoying it a bit much. Sure, they were monsters, but I was vaguely aware that, should I continue to enjoy setting them on fire, I would need to visit Jenna – though, I'm not sure if she works with illnesses of the mind.

But, on the inside, I was feeling a bit crowded.

"I think, maybe, we've outgrown this house," I told Steve and Wilbur, one day. "I was thinking of building a new home."

"And demolish this one?" Steve asked.

"No, I think it should remain standing. The new home would take a long time to build and I wouldn't mind if a new village started up, here, since we wouldn't be using it, anyway."

"I think any village that started up would come and live with us," Wilbur mused, "since we have the majority."

"The new house will have bedrooms for everyone, here," I continued, "so there'd be no need for a separate building."

"That's probably a good call," Steve said, "And newcomers?"

"Um," I didn't have that figured out. I was pretty sure there wouldn't be too many newcomers that wanted to move in, with me. "If there are any, I'll make sure the building can be expanded, or that it's big enough to accommodate more.

"And I'm thinking, like, a big ward for Jenna – like, four beds." I was beaming as I spoke.

"Where's this house going to be, if not here?" Steve asked.

"The beach… I would like to live by the beach," I told him.

"What's that, peon?" I heard Timmy stomp out of his room – his door had been open, "Did I hear that you're moving to the beach? And how do you plan to carry out my requests, when I'm stuck over here?"

I sighed with irritation. Where did that guy get off, anyway? I almost never have time to go fishing – let alone go running from biome to biome looking for his rare fish.

"We're all moving, if we want," Steve politely explained to the Angler, "Mensa is offering to build a bigger home by the beach."

"Oh! That sounds excellent! But, make sure my room is near the water. I don't want to be stuck in the middle, again, with not even a window!"

I already had his house planned out in my mind: he would live near the water, all right, but he would live under the kitchen, too, so that I would hear less of his demands for me to sacrifice myself to his fish collection.

* * *

The move was not as stressful as I'd anticipated. Most villagers responded positively to the idea of moving to a new location. Perhaps they felt as crowded as I did. Instead, the move was tedious. Honestly, it was easier frequenting the Underworld than it was transporting all the resources I had horded from the center of our vast landmass, where we were living, to the edge, where the new house was.

During the time it took for me to move resources, people were asking me about the new location. Jenna, Alalia, and Scarlett wanted rooms close to each other.

Jamal wanted to live close to Jenna and Grodax.

Grodax was indifferent.

Jamal and Jarut didn't want to be anywhere near each other.

Hiram and Leonardo wanted to be roommates (I told them we would all be roommates).

Wilbur wanted to be close to his customers, wherever that meant.

And Steve was confident that I would make the best decision.

I just decided to design many rooms – preferably many more than needed – and they could move in where they wanted. Of course, I would make rooms with them in mind, and try to keep everyone close to resources they'd need – garden, crafting stations, creative and social areas – but, it was ultimately up to them where they'd live.

To make travel easier, I built a skybridge. On the day of the move, I hung on the rope leading to the bridge, staring down at the house I first built with Steve.

"You sure you don't want to blow it up? We could maybe use the resources?" Jarut offered.

"No, Jarut! Anyone is still free to move in, if they want."

Given the ridiculous amount of travelling I did, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be the last time I saw the house. But it was likely the last time I'd see it full of people. The rooms were so lifeless without anyone in them. It reinforced the idea that my villagers were the most important aspect of my life. Not treasure, not power, but people.

Friends.

* * *

The new house was a success.

Mostly.

Jamal complained to me that the girls had a wing all to themselves, and I asked him why he didn't claim the room above Jenna's any faster.

"I'm not fighting with Alalia for a room! I like my body the way it is – intact and breathing."

I repressed the urge to remind him that he was a gun dealer and pretty dangerous, himself, and, instead, thanked him for not starting any fights.

* * *

It was after a Goblin Invasion that I realized I had forgotten my consumable projectile weapons. Specifically, I wished for the Spiky Balls I had collected from previous invasions. I realized I left them at an arena in the old home.

It wasn't essential that I have them, but they were economically efficient when it came to fighting Goblin armies. And that's why, despite the success of the new home, I found myself back in the old neighborhood. I planned to make a day trip out of it.

I found the house was empty, untarnished, unharmed, but it still felt like a haunted building. I didn't go inside. Instead, I went straight to the arena where I left the consumables.

Now what?

It was barely noon and I was in no hurry to go back to the skybridge with the Harpies. (Steve told me that I could have built the bridge a little lower to avoid them, to which, my only reply was "You might have told me sooner!")

Then, Slime fell from the sky.

I switched my Flippers out for the Royal Gel and waited. A blue Slime landed near me. It took no interest in me and hopped away. Another Slime – a green one – landed. It, too, hopped away from me. I ran in front of it to cut it off. It brushed past me and touched me, but it didn't harm me.

Huh. Maybe I could get a Royal Gel for each of my villagers?

I wondered if King Slime would show up at all, if I was no longer an enemy of the Slimes?

The next few hours were spent collecting wood from the Jungle. As far as I knew, I wouldn't be able to grow Rich Mahogany at the beach. Then, to the Snow biome for Boreal wood.

As I chopped, I was careful where I stepped. Some of the biome was Corrupted. Some days, I would come here with Purification Powder to try and contain the Corruption, but there was so much that went too deep into the earth for me to see.

The gross thing about the Corruption was its smell. It always had the faint smell rot, like when one fruit from a basket goes bad, but you're not sure which fruit are wasted and which can be saved. If you're scared enough, you'll cut your losses and throw away the fruit. This philosophy could apply to the Corruption. It's always better to spray a little extra Purification Powder.

As I was replanting the trees I had cut down, I sensed King Slime's arrival. I wasn't in the ideal position, sandwiched between King Slime and the Corruption, but I was sure I could just hop over him. I wouldn't dare teleport home, for fear he would spawn right in the house, among all the people.

When he hopped into view, I braced myself. If he attacked me even while I wore the Royal Gel, I would abandon the piece of equipment. Hang it up, maybe, but I didn't need to carry around anything to protect myself from Slimes. I could do without.

He approached, encased in the mass of blue Slime I had come to know. I didn't make a move to attack nor to flee, but I was becoming on edge. Common sense would denote that, were he here on a friendly visit, he wouldn't lumber toward me in a giant case of harmful Slime.

He landed in front of me. I looked at him through my armour – his armour that I had taken from him, I guess. I had never been so close to him without a sword between us, before. I saw his eyes narrow in confusion.

Well, he was assessing my behaviour… that was good, wasn't it? Maybe we could set up a dialogue, for once?

But, he raised his arms, the hulking Slime body, looking rather surreal, now that I could observe it calmly and up close, raised off the ground and over my head.

And then, on my head.

I flailed, unable to scream, stuck momentarily to the Slime that was hurting me. I guess I deserved that. Why wouldn't I attack when he gave me so much opportunity to act? He was by no means a fast opponent when he was this size.

He must have mistaken my immobility as weakness – of mind, or body, or both. Or, maybe I offended him? Like, maybe he thought I thought he was no longer worth fighting? Or, maybe he didn't think about it, at all, and just wanted me to die?

Disappointed, with stinging pride and skin, I dashed away from him the moment I was unstuck.

"Could you stop, for a moment?" I called to him as my Frostspark Boots rocketed me away. "Could you please stop attacking me and we can talk?"

When I was at a more comfortable distance, uphill a little, I stopped fleeing and faced him. To my surprise, he stopped. Nice! So, we could talk, after all?

"Look," I showed him the Royal Gel, "I wear this so that I don't have to fight Slimes, anymore!"

I was lying. I killed Slimes, all the time. Their gel was vital to our survival. Steve assured me that they weren't a sentient species – or even an animal – but, most likely, were instruments animated by the Slime King, himself.

He pointed at the amulet, then at himself. I supposed he couldn't speak while encased in Slime. I was still trying to figure out what he meant by that action when he started jumping at me, again. I backed away.

"I know it was yours, and I took it from you, but you attacked me, first!" I yelled. "You _literally_ appeared out of nowhere in my home and started attacking my villagers. You almost killed me many times!" Still, he hopped towards me, but I wasn't ready to fight back, yet. I continued trying to negotiate with him.

"I get that the concept of ownership and housing might not be one that you appreciate. I get that you and the Slimes were probably here before me and my village. But, we can't just disappear, now. You would be welcome in our home – you and your Slime – but- ah!" My foot hit air and I almost fell into a cavern that used to lead into Corruption, before I purified it. He materialized in front of me.

"I'd welcome you into our home if you'd only stop hurting us!" I was practically shrieking at him. If he hopped on me one more time, I would never consider befriending him, ever again.

There was a flurry of colour blue and, suddenly, I wasn't looking at a hulking Slime wearing a crown. Instead, a figure wearing armour matching mine in every way except colour stood before me.

I waited for him to talk.

He narrowed his eyes, again, and I could see dark eyebrows tightly knit in thought. But, he didn't speak. He tilted his head at me. It was getting awkward, and I wondered if maybe he couldn't speak? What if he couldn't understand what I was saying, at all, and my words were just wasted? What if he only stopped fighting because I was refusing to fight back?

"Well?" I asked, and I could hear the uncertain waver in my tone, "Are we done fighting?"

His eyes widened, and I assumed he was done thinking. He shook his head.

"Agh, really?!" I shouted. What a disappointment.

But he shook his head more vigorously and pointed behind me.

I didn't have to turn to know what it was. I could smell it.


	4. Chapter 4

Long chapter warning. After the break, it's mostly a narrative tour of the house. Can skip. But I liked writing it, so…?

Um, not the break below this paragraph, obviously. The next break. Sorry.

* * *

My Fire Imp was the first to engage. When I turned around, I saw two Eater of Souls flying our way, one of them already set ablaze and taking damage.

"I see… I hope this is what you meant," I said to the Slime King, drawing my sword. I could hear a splash, and trusted that he was back in his defensive encasement. The imp focused its attacks on the second Eater of Souls, but missed the flying target. Great.

"You might want to clear out of here." I warned the king, "the Corrupt is not fun, but I can handle myself."

I had barely finished my words of caution when I saw him materialize above the second Eater of Souls – the one my imp seemed unable to hit. He landed on top of it and fell to the ground, but the exposure of Slime to the monster's flesh was enough to kill it.

"Not bad," I mused, smiling at him. He looked at me and jumped in my direction. I realized, all too late, that he was trying to warn _me_.

The Eater of Souls bit into my back and sent me flying down the cavern I had been avoiding. I wasn't afraid of falling – I had a Slime Hook, after all – but I felt foolish for being caught off guard at all. Some hero.

I let my climbing gear's claws dig into the stone and clung, there, weary of immediately jumping up, in case the Eater of Souls was there, waiting for me. It was dark and the Shadow Orb was still catching up with me.

Frustrated, I lit a torch and placed it. Falling into darkness was dangerous, never mind falling into darkness with an Eater of Souls chasing you. Hopefully, there weren't more hiding in the darkness, below.

I heard another splash. Having lost sight of me, King Slime materialized above me.

"Oh no- don't!" But, it was too late. He managed to fall past me without hurting me, (good to know that he could control the acidic effects of Slime) but he couldn't stop his descent. Lighting another torch to carry, I jumped after him.

He hadn't gone far. I saw him stuck on some protruding stone. When the light of the torch hit him, he looked up to see me falling and hopped under me.

Was he trying to break my fall? How cute. Stumble upon a couple Eater of Souls and it's like we never tried hopping on each other's heads to kill each other.

I appreciated the gesture, nonetheless, and, rather carelessly, held my breath and let myself fall into the Slime. I expected to fall through, but was surprised when he reached out to grab me.

And there we were: two ninjas in a giant Slime.

I was still holding my breath, hoping to convey to him that I was afraid of breathing Slime and, potentially, drowning in it. He poked my cheek, which was covered by the Ninja Mask. I took a tentative breath and found that, mysteriously, I could breathe. Was it the armour? Was it the Slime? I was relieved, nonetheless.

Our surroundings illuminated, and I looked around to find that the source of light was us. I heard a clanging sound like metal hitting rock and was blinded.

When my vision returned, we were outside of my old house. The Slime King released me and the Slime dissipated. He had taken me home. Or, tried to, anyway.

"Oh, I don't live here, anymore," I told him. He tilted his head. Wow, he was really accustomed to staying silent, wasn't he? "We moved to a bigger home at the beach."

He nodded. I waited for him to speak, but he never did. His silence was unnerving. It seemed like he understood everything I told him. I wondered what was under that mask – did he have no mouth? Did the mask even come off? But, he must have a mouth, or, at least, a nose, because he understood the concept of breathing and drowning.

He tilted his head and I realized I was staring – possibly creepily – at his mask.

"Sorry," I blurted, and then, wondered if I really had grounds to apologize when he was the one behaving unusually.

He pointed upwards at the rope leading to the skybridge.

"Yeah, I use that to get here. It does lead to the castle-" his eyes widened at the word 'castle,' and I thought, perhaps, I had misspoken. "Well, _house_ , I mean." I didn't want to call it a castle, though I, kind of, thought of it as a castle compared to our old house. It's just that he was a king, and would be liable to be disappointed with what I had built. "But, I usually just use my mirror to get home."

I showed him my mirror, but there wasn't much to see. I wrapped it in cloth so that I couldn't gaze into it, accidentally. The number of times my eyes happened upon the glass and I ended up away from my current project and at the foot of my bed had been large enough to warrant extra caution.

"You… want to come with me?" I asked. He looked down seemingly focusing on something on the ground. Was he being shy, or did he not want to go? I mean, as shy as a guy who didn't talk could be. "I meant what I said, you know. If you wanted to live with us you're welcome to it. I can't promise complete safety, but I can promise to do my best to protect the place and the people in it."

He didn't make eye contact, but kept staring at the ground. I resisted the urge to check what he was looking at, I was sure he was thinking. After some deliberation, he raised his shoulders, lifted his gaze to look beyond me and sighed. I could swear I heard a voice in that sigh – I was shocked at how young he sounded. I guess, I expected a king who begrudged me enough to challenge me to a fight every time it rained Slimes no matter how often he lost to be a bit older. But, he sounded like a young adult – like me.

He nodded and I realized I had almost forgotten what I had asked him.

"Oh! Uh, then… Great! I mean- good?" I smacked my helmet. How important were first impressions? Not at all? I hoped so. I saw the edges of his eyes crinkle, and thought, perhaps, he was smiling. At me? Yeah, he was smiling at me. I think…

"We should get going then, maybe? I mean, we could get going… It would take a while to cross the bridge, and, I think we'd have to, since you haven't been there, before." I could give him a Magic Mirror once we arrived – I had plenty, and, since I didn't know how to craft them, didn't have the heart to throw them away or sell them.

He pointed at himself, then at me. I sighed. The enigmatic, silent-type could be endearing, but also extensively impractical. His hand lingered as it pointed at me, as if it was the end of his sentence. He signalled again, pointing at himself, then me. I reviewed what he was capable of in an attempt to understand.

"You want to teleport to me?" I asked. He nodded. "Okay, but give me ten seconds once I've left, in case Steve or someone is in the room alright?"

He nodded.

"Oh, and, a warning," I pointed at him and lowered my tone. I had been polite, until now. "You've attacked us, before, but, in my house, I protect my people. If you hurt them, again, you won't be welcome, you'll be dead. That's our condition. Got it?"

His eyes lost their crinkle, and I almost felt bad for making things serious. But, it wasn't worth the risk of my villagers.

His nod was all I needed.

* * *

"Mensa!" Steve was in my room, after all. I put bookshelves in my room as a decorative treat for me – I still couldn't find any books to build them, myself – and told Steve he was welcome to them, any time. "What's wrong? The Slime King hasn't been defeated, yet."

"I'll explain in a sec," I said and rushed through the trapdoor of my room to the house's entrance and out the front door. I counted five seconds remaining. "Incoming!"

Three, two, one…

I expected a splash and a hulking blue mass to appear, but there was just the soft sound of feet landing in the sand. I turned around. King Slime was there, minus the Slime. I guess it makes sense that his powers of teleportation had nothing to do with Slime.

He looked up at the building, behind me. The front of the building was 128 feet tall, last I measured. It was plain, made of glass and stone bricks, and a fake pink tree dangled at the top. What he couldn't see was the back, where it stood 154 feet tall, and the inside, which went underground, a little, and where I had set up some artificial biomes (that didn't work, by the way.) Regardless, I had no way to gauge whether or not this building was impressive or miniscule, since I had never been invited into anyone else's home, before. Strictly speaking, there were no other people inhabiting homes to invite me.

But, I could assess that he approved of what he saw by his nod.

"How about I give you a tour, eh?" I offered. "I'll show you the vacant rooms and introduce you to the villagers so that they don't throw things at you."

His eyes crinkled and I opened the tall gate into the house.

Steve and Jarut were inside, waiting curiously in the front room as we walked in. Steve's mouth straightened into a contemplative line at the sight of us. Jarut rubbed his eyes.

"I'd better go back to Jenna. I don't think my concussion is healed, after all," the Demolitionist said.

"You're not seeing double," Steve corrected him. "That's Mensa and King Slime."

"I thought King Slime was a giant Slime?" Jarut asked. I smacked my forehead.

"No, he's also got a big crown, and…" I lifted my hands above my head, as if to put on my own crown, then I looked over at King Sime, who was looking at me incredulously, "and he's also a man."

"Any reason why he's in our supply room?" Steve asked.

"Turns out, he's not a big fan of the Corruption," I said, "and, since we're working to purify the world, I guess that makes us allies." I looked to him for affirmation, which he gave with a small incline of his head.

"This… is…" Steve stammered. He was staring at the king. It wasn't like him to be surprised, especially not at the arrival of a new villager.

"Is there a problem?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw King Slime stiffen.

"It's just unexpected," Steve said. We made eye contact, trying to silently communicate what his deal was without alerting the king.

"I'll say!" Jarut laughed, breaking the tension. "Last I checked, you were enemies."

"The enemy of my enemy…" Steve said, shrugging. I assumed we'd talk later. "… is my friend."

"That's what I thought!" I chirped. If Steve was okay with it, it was probably safe.

I led the king through the house. The entrance was, as Steve had put it, also a storage room. I was proud to have two rows of chests, all of them labelled and organized, and all of them had an item frame over them to give a visual of what was inside.

A trap door in the ceiling led to my room, but we passed it, for now. There were stairs that would lead there, eventually.

The next room sloped down. It held every crafting station I had found, so far: a workbench with a bottle on top, a Hellforge, an iron anvil, a sawmill, a loom, a heavy workbench, a Glass Kiln, an Extractinator, an Ice Machine…

"And, I believe, this is yours?" I pointed to a Solidifier. His eyes crinkled at it. "Yeah, you're free, of course, to use any of these. You'll find plenty more crafting items around the house, too."

We passed a staircase into the kitchen.

"You'll find Jarut, the Demolitionist in here, a lot. If you're gonna cook something, make sure he hasn't been cooking something messed up. So far, he's promised not to, but, better to err on the side of caution, right?" I didn't even know if he ate, at all, and, if he did, what it was. He tilted his head at me. "I don't know. I'm sure explosives aren't made in the kitchen, but… I'm not the Demolitionist."

The kitchen led to the back yard. He marvelled at the ocean, or, at least, I was pretty sure he was marvelling.

"Like it?" I asked. He just kept staring. "It's part of the reason why we moved, here."

I knew Slimes could float, so I assumed he had seen the ocean, before. But, then again, I never encountered any Slimes at sea, so maybe not? Certainly, I was still in awe of the ocean, even after building a house, here, and living by it, but I was not as dumbstruck as he.

I watched him watch the water and, by the time I had his attention, again, I had almost forgotten what I was going to say, next.

"Uh, Timmy – our Angler – lives down there," I pointed under the door we had exited. A set of stairs led to a basement door, just as I had dreamed for my little Timmy. "I specifically enjoy avoiding him and his demands."

Back through the kitchen and up the stairs, we went. He was certainly different from the villagers. He didn't climb one step at a time, if he could help it. He'd jump the full height of the room to the second floor, like me.

"Sure, why use stairs?" I asked him. "Stairs are for the _weak_!" He gave me crinkled-eye look that I now associated with smiling, and I smiled back.

I turned around and saw Timmy and Grodax eying me. They were standing in a large, decorative glass room that was, _apparently_ , too big to live in. But, Steve, Grodax, Jarut, and Timmy frequently used it as a dining and social room.

"I'm only kidding," I told them. I checked on the king, behind me, and raised my eyebrows at him. He raised his back. "This is King Slime, by the way," I told them. "He's going to be living with us, now, so I don't want to hear any fighting."

" _The_ King Slime, huh?" Timmy asked and approached, "There any cool fish, where you hail from?"

The king furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head.

"Pity. You ever hear of a Slimefish?" Timmy asked.

He shook his head, again.

"Really? And they call you the King of Slimes?"

"And, this is Grodax," I interrupted shamelessly. "Grodax is our Tinkerer."

"Nice to meet you," Grodax smiled and reached out to shake hands. "Mensa's been copying your style for a while, now. Figures it was only a matter of time before she lured you, here-"

"Well, we've got plenty more rooms to see," I said, turning abruptly to leave. I didn't even check to see if King Slime was following me. Happy as I was to see people accepting him into our home, if they were going to tease me, I didn't want to be in the room while they did it.

The sudden change of direction meant we missed going into my room, but there was another trap door we could take from the floor above.

The next room was wood, with a heavy workbench and the Tinkerer's Workshop.

"Grodax's bedroom is through that door," I pointed. "But that door, up those stairs," I indicated a green, cactus door, "leads to a vacant bedroom, which you can help yourself to, if you like it."

He hopped past the staircase, again, and checked in the room. He shrugged as he walked back out.

"It's very cactus-y, isn't it?"

He smiled and nodded.

"I don't know, I guess I was in a cactus-y mood. There are more rooms."

Up another flight of stairs.

"This room could be a good room, if we added somewhere to sit or lie down. But, I don't like this room, much. It's functionally just a staircase." I looked around the room. He was standing at the window. I stood next to him. We were three stories high, staring at the water, again. He had absent-mindedly put his hand against the window, like a kid might do to a display case at a store.

"You like the ocean?"

He looked at me. No other response.

"You like blue?" I tried.

He smiled and nodded emphatically. It looked a little goofy, but it was cute. I mean, in a kid-ish kind of way. I think. Right?

And I was staring, again.

"Oh, snap," I said, and he tilted his head. "I mean- let's move along?"

We left the room through the door up the stairs.

"The rooms on the right are Leonardo and Hiram's. At the very top of the stairs is Wilbur and Jamal's rooms, but _that_ room," I pointed at a room that was up only one floor, "is unoccupied, as well."

We went in that room, together. It was larger than most of the bedrooms because I put a pool and a crafting table, inside, to make bottled water. The bottom window was not actually a window, but a glass door that overlooked the garden. He opened the door and peered over the edge.

"Careful!" I warned, "The ledge…"

But he gave me a look that very clearly stated that he wasn't afraid of cliffs. I had to remind myself not to treat him like the other villagers.

"I mean… Nevermind."

I had trees growing in front of us.

"The rest of the garden is that way," I pointed past the trees. "You can find all sorts of plants and potion supplies, there, if you need. Uh, but the fish are in Timmy's room."

He didn't seem to care. He turned around and focused his attention on the dresser in the room. On top of it was a jellyfish in a bowl. He pointed at it.

"Cute, isn't it?" I admired the pink sea creature. "I caught it while fishing. I have plenty more. Timmy says to use them as bait, but I prefer to keep them as pets… They look kind of like Slimes, don't they?"

He nodded. He smiled when the creature lit up and moved to touch it. I pushed his hand back down.

"But, they're not Slimes. They'll sting you."

He glanced at me sideways and raised his hand, again. I grabbed it.

"Don't, trust me. It hurts. Trust me."

We went meet Wilbur and Jamal.

"You never told me you have a brother," Jamal said, grinning with mischief.

"He's King Slime, not my brother."

"And do you guys regularly wear matching outfits?"

"Oh my God…"

"Hey, who'd you convince to wear King Slime's clothes?" Wilbur asked as he marched in.

"And that's Wilbur, the Merchant. Nothing more to see, here," I said and dragged King Slime out of the room.

The roof of the house was next to show. There was not much to see except the rope that led to the skybridge. Then, we jumped through the garden and walked in the part of the house that Jamal and I had come to think of as the girls' wing.

Alalia's room was the first, but she wasn't in it. We found her, Scarlett, and Jenna in the Nurse's room.

"Now _this_ is something I never expected to see," the Stylist said as we walked in. "Someone with the exact same taste in fashion as Mensa."

Great. I avoided eye contact.

"It's not Mensa's style – that's King Slime!" Alalia exclaimed. "What's the meaning of this?"

"I hope it means no more half-digested victims of Slime," Jenna crossed her arms.

King Slime, now, avoided eye contact.

"Okay, okay, I'm glad we're all being so… optimistic about our newest villager," I waved my hands in front of me.

"Villager? The King Slime? This is unheard of," Alalia said. She was having a similar reaction to King Slime as Steve was.

"Really," I said, "you've lived 500 years and _this_ is the strangest thing you've seen? A powerful man moving into a village?"

King Slime shuffled his feet and bowed his head.

"No, you got me, I've seen stranger," the Dryad relaxed. "But I have to wonder, why?"

I looked to him to see if he would answer. Of course he wouldn't.

"He doesn't talk much, but it seems he likes the Corruption about as much as we do."

"Ah, that makes more sense," Alalia nodded.

I introduced him to each of the girls and he shook their hands.

"I gotta say, that armour suits him a lot more than it suits you, Mensa," Scarlett asserted with a smirk.

"Is this revenge for the haircut?" I asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Okay, well, as soon as I get my hands on a Familiar Wig, I'll wear it. Will that satisfy you?"

"Still don't know what you're talking about."

"I think they look cute," Jenna said in a singsong voice.

"If you don't want to stay, anymore, no one will blame you," I told the king. He calmly raised his hand to dismiss the matter, which was probably the most blasé, aristocratic gesture I'd seen from him.

We stepped out of the room, down a trap door, through the dining room, and into the last room.

"And this is my room. I mean, you're welcome to it, if you like it best, but I consider it mine, kind of…"

He walked up the steps to my bed and pointed out the window.

"Windows are good?"

He nodded.

"So, don't choose the cactus room."

Crinkled eyes. I smiled back at him.

"If he sleeps as little as you do, I'm sure housing won't be a problem."

Startled at the sound, I whipped around. Steve was at the door.

"I trust everyone took well to our new arrival?"

"More or less," I told him.

"Good," he spoke to the king. "You are an unexpected resident, and you are quite different from the rest of us. But, not to worry. I think you'll find we're all a band of misfits, anyway."

"Talk to Steve if you ever need a sense of normalcy," I advised.

"And talk to Mensa if you ever need a sense of danger. She's known for chasing danger, and often brings trouble right to our doorstep."

"All under your sage guidance," I quipped.

King Slime pointed at an item frame on the wall. I remembered that I hung his Treasure Bag, there.

"Oh! I… I suppose that's yours… I didn't open that one."

"Why not?" Steve pressed. I clenched my fists. I knew when he was being a smartass.

"I've got the mount and the hook and the Solidifier and the armour and the Royal Gel and even a hat!" I snapped, "I could open that Treasure Bag any time I wanted, but I doubt there'd be anything new in it."

"Why hang it on the wall? Solidifiers sell for a lot of gold, so do Royal Gels," Steve remarked. "Besides, it wouldn't hurt to have an extra set of Ninja Armour around, in case anything happened to yours. You wear it all the time-"

"Okay! I get it! I need my own style! Would everyone please just shut their stupid faces!" I roared. I was sure the whole house could hear me, but I didn't care. I turned back to the king. "I'm sorry. Like I said, no judgement if you choose not to stay. You're a brave soul to have made it this far."

He didn't respond at all.

"… Otherwise… make yourself at home."

He grinned and flopped down on my bed.

Oh. Fantastic.

"You already hung up his stuff for him and everything. It's like you made this room just for him," Steve teased. Whatever look I gave him scared him away.


	5. Chapter 5

Jarut died in a Pirate Invasion, today. It was pretty sad… for me.

Oh! And… sorry for not warning, sooner, but it occurred to me that you might not have expected King Slime to be such a major character. *sweatdrop* I can't choose him as a character in the story, or else I would have.

I'm terribly sorry!

* * *

Fortunately, after people got used to the fact that the king was here, to stay, the heckling stopped. At least, the heckling about matching armour or whether or not I worshipped the guy stopped. I was always being heckled.

I had a feeling that even King Slime, himself, would pick on me, too, if he spoke. Verbal communication is only a small part of comprehension, and his posture and facial expressions suggested that he didn't mind in the least watching me be teased by my villagers.

Where did any of them get the nerve, anyway? I could take any of them on and win. At least, I think I could…

Anyway, they stopped talking about what I wore and who I hung out with after a few days and went back to telling me what I should be spending my money on.

It seemed even King Slime was trying to make a profit, here. I saw him selling pink and blue gel, Solidifiers, Slime Guns, Slime hooks, and even the occasional crown if he had been mining, recently. I opted to buy gel from him, rather than kill Slimes for it. He didn't seem to hold a grudge against me, anymore, but, I figured it would be best if I avoided any unpleasant actions.

He continued to behave very differently than the other villagers. Mining was one of the activities he took up that struck me as odd. Most villagers didn't stray far from the house, but he would take off for entire days and come back looking rather beat-up.

On a day where King Slime was mysteriously absent, I went to visit Jenna. She was sitting on one of the beds, reading a book.

"Oh no," she said when she looked up at me, "W hat have you done to yourself, this time?"

"Relax, Jenna, I'm fine."

"Good. I never thought I'd say that it's easier to take care of a Demolitionist, but it is."

"I appreciate your concern," I remarked sarcastically. I plopped down next to her. "What are you reading?"

"It's a book about spells."

"Thinking about becoming a Wizard?" I asked.

"No way. Who would ever put you back together if I stopped practicing medicine?"

"Well, that's a load off of my shoulders, then."

She chuckled and closed the book.

"What brings you here, then?" she asked.

"It's about King Slime-" I didn't get to begin my inquiry when she interrupted.

"Oh boy, you want to have _that_ talk?"

"Jenna, please!" And here I thought teasing me about King Slime had grown old. "I don't want to talk about that."

"Oh, Mensa. You shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking of such subjects as taboo. We need to be comfortable and honest about these kinds of things for our safety."

"I don't want to talk about it because that's not what I'm here to talk about, not because I'm uncomfortable with it!" I protested.

"So you're comfortable talking about it, then?" she asked. I growled. I hated playing these stupid games with the villagers. How is it that I ended up with a house full of smart-mouthed cretins, anyway?

"Sure, Jenna. If it was a thing, You'd be the first to know. But it's not a thing."

"Okay," she said, grinning.

"Besides," I continued, and I thought I saw triumph in her features, "he's a villager under my protection. I wouldn't take advantage of him."

"He doesn't need your protection. He fares just fine on his own," Jenna waved her hand dismissively.

"Well, that's what I wanted to ask you about, actually. Some days, he looks like he gets himself hurt pretty badly. Does he come here to care for his injuries?"

"Yes," she answered.

"He does?" I said, excitedly. "Have you seen the extent of his injuries? Does he tell you what he's been doing? Have you ever seen him without his helmet on? And stop looking at me, like that. I'm pretty curious – he doesn't talk to me."

"I said he comes here, nothing more," she said, "He doesn't let me so much as examine him. He just knocks, enters, and points at that wardrobe until I tell him he can take as many Healing Potions as he needs and that you'll always restock them."

I pouted.

"So, he doesn't talk to you, either?" I asked. "I thought he might talk to a pretty Nurse."

"Do you suppose he's mute?"

"No, I think he can talk," I said, "Not that I have anything to ground that theory."

"You should ask him these questions," Jenna suggested. "He seems to like you."

"Yeah?" I said skeptically, "What makes you think that?"

"Alalia and I were talking about it, actually. She's never heard of an entity like King Slime to change sides. You must have said or done something he liked."

I was pretty sure it was nothing I said or did. I was certain that it was more akin to Steve's reasoning – neither of us want the Corruption to spread.

"And what sort of entity is King Slime?" I asked.

"That's another question for him, not me. Why don't you invite him to fight Skeletron with you? You're still struggling with that guy, right?"

"Yeah, but I could never endanger him, like that. Bosses like Skeletron are for me to fight, not you guys."

"He's not like us, though, Mensa. And he endangers himself already, remember? At least, this way, you can actually spend time with him."

I gave her a waring glance.

"I mean that you can watch over him. Right now, he's wandering out into the world all alone. If he goes with you, he'll at least have your protection. And, who knows? Maybe you'll get to know what he's fighting and why?"

"To be honest, Jenna, I wouldn't mind the company, even if he didn't help me fight. But, I have no idea how to open a dialogue with that guy, what with his vow of silence, and all."

"Out of curiosity, Mensa, and don't take this the wrong way…"

"This sounds like I'm liable to take it the wrong way."

"Have you ever taken off your armour around him?"

I sighed with irritation.

"I just mean… you seem to want him to open up to you-"

"To anyone, really."

"But, have you considered that you haven't exactly opened up to him? Do you think he even knows what you look like without a full set of armour on you? Even before the Ninja Armour, you're always covering your body with _something_."

What she said made sense. How could I expect him to feel comfortable in a house I built when I, myself, don't even so much as take my shoes off at the door?

"It's just a thought. You know you have friends, here. Alternately, he's much more vulnerable, here, than any of us. If you want to know more about him, you might have to show him what you're all about. Or else, how could he even know if he can trust you?"

I thought about it.

"It's worth a shot," I concluded and stood. "I guess, when he gets back, I'll… invite him to go mining or something." He seemed to like mining.

"Ooh! Maybe you could ask him on a date!" Jenna called after me as I approached the door.

"Don't you have some reading to do?" I yelled and angrily shoved the door open. It only opened part way, though, before it hit something. I could swear I heard a voice say 'Oof!' and realized that it had hit some _one_.

"Oh my God!" I opened it in my direction and saw King Slime standing at the door. I resisted asking how long he had been standing there – what was important was how I just mauled him with a door. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?"

He stood there, a moment, as if he needed time to think about whether or not he was okay. Then, he stumbled backwards.

"Oh no! Jenna!" I rushed forwards, thinking I'd hit his head against the door, and grabbed his shoulders to steady him. It was easier than I expected – he was taller than me and I thought he'd be harder to hold up.

I looked up and saw his eyes scrunched with mischief. He stood perfectly straight and sturdy.

"Oh, you brat!" I punched his arm half-heartedly. He creased his eyebrows sadly and rubbed his shoulder where I had hit him. "Yeah, yeah. Fool me once."

His expression sobered and he reached in his pocket to show me something. It was a disgusting piece of fabric.

"Uh, do you need a sink? Or a tub?" I asked. He didn't move, indicating that I had incorrectly guessed his meaning. I studied the cloth closer. I recognized it as one that Goblin Scouts would drop.

"Oh, that is…" I looked from the cloth to him in surprise. He nodded and pointed East.

* * *

"A Goblin Army is approaching from the East!" I announced, running around the house, making sure the doors were closed. "I want everyone to come inside and stay in their rooms. Under no circumstances should you open the doors until I gave the all-clear!"

I repeated this message on each floor.

"Steve," I said, when I reached the bottom, "Do not. Open. The door."

"It was one time."

"It was NOT, and don't do it, again."

"Are you going to help?" Steve asked. Confused, I looked around and saw that King Slime was following me.

"Oh, you-" I almost told him that he shouldn't put himself in harm's way, but stopped myself. "You, uh, want to help? You don't have to."

He pounded one fist into an open palm.

"Well-" I stopped myself, again, before I could warn him to retreat if the going got too tough. It probably wouldn't do to sound condescending. "I mean, great! I appreciate it."

Unlike at the previous house, I hadn't built an arena. I smoothed out some of the land near the house, in case of a battle, but didn't have time to set up banners, Heart Lanterns, or bottled Stars. Aside from the stone brick ground, there were only campfires and one ammo box.

King Slime and I stood by the ammo box.

"I'd put valuables in here, if I were you," I summoned a Money Trough and deposited what coins I had on me. "It's enchanted to have a unique inventory for each individual that uses it," I assured him. He checked his pockets and deposited some money, as well. "Don't worry, though. Grodax and I have confirmed that Goblin Thieves are not very good at what they do."

He pointed at something behind me. I had just enough time to see a Chaos Ball aimed for my head and stop it with my sword.

I caught sight of the Goblin Sorcerer responsible for attacking me and rushed in its direction. Sorcerers and Archers were the worst part of fighting a Goblin Army – their ranged attacks made them more dangerous than the rest.

My pursuit of the Sorcerer was interrupted by a small wave of Goblin Peons. While I slashed at them, two more Chaos Balls threatened to hit me. I dodged them and, once I was finished with the peons, glared at the Sorcerer.

I had ranged weapons, too. I pulled out my Diamond Staff and shot at the Sorcerer, but it teleported away before it was hit.

Crud.

Meanwhile, more peons, accompanied by thieves and warriors were headed in my direction. I braced myself, but they never even got close to me. King Slime materialized on top of them and his Slime made to digest them. How satisfying it was to have him fighting with me, rather than against me.

I searched for an incoming Chaos Ball. The sorcerer would keep firing until I killed it. Sure enough, the magic projectile was headed for me and revealed the sorcerer's location. It was standing in a huge Living Tree.

Already fed up with its antics, I fired repeatedly, unconcerned with the mana cost. Anything to end the creature. My first shot was destroyed by one its Chaos Balls, but the next five shots killed it.

I checked on the king.

To my dismay, it seemed his only weapon was the giant Slime body he could summon. Trouble with that was that, as far as I could tell, that was his only defense.

He hadn't lost too much of his size, so far, I was relieved to see. The Spiked Slimes that came to his aid proved to be quite effective against the grounded goblins. However, I could see that the Goblin Archers' arrows were taking their toll on him.

I ran and used my Frostspark Boots to propel myself over him. I left the warriors, thieves, and peons to him. I would take care of the archers.

Thanks to the king's advanced warning, I had time to grab my Spiky Balls before the battle. They weren't especially strong, but I took great satisfaction in watching the archers trip and get hit by their own weapons. Why none of the Goblins used these as weapons was beyond me. Even Grodax couldn't explain why they carried them without using them.

The four Goblin Archers that were targeting King Slime were stationed down some steps that overlooked a pond. Despite the distance and height difference, they had taken all the time they needed to get an accurate hit on the king, who was kept busy with the melee soldiers.

I tossed the Spiky Balls at the archers without a care in the world as to how many I'd lose. I always found more than I threw. The archers were knocked backwards and fell into the water below. The Spiky Balls followed and continued to bounce on them. The goblins tried to avoid them, but were slowed by the water. It took no further effort from me for them to perish.

I looked back to the Slime King. He was considerably smaller. But, instead of falling back to recuperate, as I would have done, he pressed onwards, allowing the Goblins to hack away more and more of his protective coating.

"Hey!" I called to him. I ran towards him and cut down a few of his adversaries. I summoned the Fire Imp so that we could, perhaps, have the slightest of breathers. "I'll cover you for a bit – you need to recover, a little."

But he didn't listen. He just kept fighting. That, I figured, was his style. But, it was foolish and led to many defeats.

He, the imp, and I wasted the remaining wave of Goblins, but I was sure there were many more on their way.

"Hey, King Slime, quit being a macho-man and fall back!" I shouted. "You'll get yourself killed!"

I couldn't see his facial expression, from where I was, but I could see that he wasn't retreating.

"At least take a Healing Potion, or something, man!" I told him.

He patted an arm and then spread both of them out in a very 'come at me, bro' stance.

"If your Slime body doesn't recuperate, you'll get hurt real soon!" Sure, I didn't know how his Slime worked, but I knew how to defeat him, and he was getting close to being defeated.

Something hit me from behind, knocking the air out of me, and I fell forward. I checked behind me and realized I had been hit with an arrow. The arrow hadn't gone through my armour, but the impact still felt like I had been sucker punched with a massive amount of force.

The king disappeared from in front of me. I saw him reappear a fair distance away at the staircase where yet more archers had gathered.

I found myself unable to breathe, let alone protest his reckless attack, but I forced myself to my feet. For a few seconds, I couldn't move quickly, not even with my boots' assistance. When breathing became easier for me, I ran to the quickly shrinking king of Slimes.

I gave up on trying to convince the king to retreat – it was clear he wasn't going to until they reduced him to nothing. Frustrated, I put myself between him and his attackers to act as a living shield.

We were taking a pretty brutal beating from the warriors and thieves. This never would have happened if I was fighting, alone. I would be fighting from a distance, sipping away at Healing Potions.

One thing was for certain: the king needed a weapon that didn't involve him throwing his body on to his enemies.

Another Sorcerer appeared. I flew to it to dispose of it, quickly. No way did I want to have to dodge Chaos Balls, right now. I chopped it up with the Fiery Greatsword.

Below me, I heard a large splash – too large to belong to a Goblin – and felt dread pool in my stomach. The king had fallen into the water. He was too heavy to float, and I knew he would get trapped at the bottom (because I used that pond to trap enemies).

I took a deep breath and jumped in, after him. Some thieves were with him, trapped at the bottom, and they kept attacking him, even while submerged.

That was it. King Slime was going home, whether he liked it or not.

I pulled out my Ice Mirror and hastily unwrapped it. As I sank to the bottom, I held out in front of me, careful not to look at it, myself. I gave his Slime exterior a gentle kick and, when he looked up, he teleported, just as I'd hoped.

Thank God.

Knowing he was in a safer place, I swam out of the water and hid in the Living Tree. I'd have to move as soon as another sorcerer showed up, but for now, I could catch my breath and take a potion.

I assumed the king would teleport to me when he was ready.

After I had rested up, a bit, I rejoined the battle. He wasn't back, yet, and I, strangely, felt more relaxed. Without having to worry about his safety, I found it all the easier to focus on mine and on my aim.

I didn't start to get a bad feeling until the battle was over. He never rejoined me.

Was he mad?

Or, worse, was he badly hurt?

I rushed home and announced that the army was defeated. Without checking in with Steve or selling extra harpoons to Wilbur, I ran to the medical ward.

"Jenna, is the king, here?" I asked.

She looked shocked.

"No one's here," she told me, "You told me not to open the door."

"Oh, okay…"

I checked the building and talked to every villager.

King Slime was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

"Why don't you summon him?" Steve asked. "You have more than enough gold bars."

It had been three days since the Goblin Invasion. In those three days, I never left home, in case he came back.

Steve, Jamal, Jenna, and I were hanging out on the roof of the castle.

"I thought of that, but… what if the reason he hasn't come back is because he doesn't want to?"

"So he shows up, tells you he wants to leave, and then leaves. Big deal," Jamal explained. "You don't have to be so awkward about it."

"You know what I think?" Jenna spoke up, "I think he just didn't really claim a room. He never thought of any room as his home, and, so, when you showed him the mirror, he ended up at his old home."

"That's pretty reasonable," Steve agreed, "It's a common mistake."

"Okay, but if he had a home, before, why did he move in with us? What if it's dangerous, where he's from? What if, when I sent him back when he was so wounded, he was killed? What if… what if he wasn't supposed to use that mirror? What if using that mirror killed him?"

"Okay, you're snowballing," Steve warned me. "I know you're worried, but you're overthinking things."

"Besides, you've defeated him before. Where do you think he teleported to, back then?" Jamal added. "He must have a safe place to go to."

"And didn't you give him a mirror?" Steve asked. I nodded. "He probably wouldn't accept it if it could kill him."

"In any case, you should maybe consider building him a room of his own. Maybe he just didn't feel right in those other rooms?" Jenna suggested.

"I could do that…" I said.

"'Didn't feel right?'" Jamal repeated. "He didn't seem like the picky type, to me."

"Yeah," Steve said, "Awkward, maybe, but not picky."

"Well, I could build a new room, anyway. Couldn't hurt, right? Besides, I think he might have wanted a room with blue in it… and windows."

"How do you know he likes blue?" Jenna asked.

"Oh, he liked my granite furniture," Jamal pointed out.

"Granite's cool," I nodded.

"Wait, how do you know he liked your furniture?" Jenna asked. "Does he talk to you guys?"

"No," Jamal and I said simultaneously.

* * *

Building King Slime's room only took me about a day. I used all Slime blocks and Slime furniture, since he liked blue. The amount of gel I had been hoarding was remarkable. This meant that I didn't have to go and hunt down any of the materials needed for the room.

The only non-Slime items I put in his room were an Item Frame to hold his Treasure Bag, a Piggy Bank, and Leonardo's painting of a Slime, but I bought some paint from Leonardo to make them blue.

The design of the room was mean to look like a Slime had landed on the top of the house and was seeping inside. When Steve saw it, he asked me if it might seem like the Slime was fighting us.

"If we're truly past fighting and have comfortably moved on, then it shouldn't be a problem. Besides, friendly Slimes still hop on things," I told him.

The last piece I added was a jellyfish in a bowl, with the hope that he wouldn't feel tempted to touch it. Though, when I thought about it, he'd been mining many times, and probably knew not to touch jellyfish.

Then, what was the meaning of him trying to touch the one from before? Was he just pretending not to know what it was?

For a quiet guy, he sure was a brat.

Perhaps he wasn't pretending. He didn't seem familiar with the creature. I'd ask him, if he ever came back.

I sat down at the table I had set up in his room, feeling rather pessimistic.

"Hey, what's with the blue paint?" Wilbur stuck his head in. "Mensa? What kind of room is this?"

"It's for King Slime," I explained.

"Did he come back?"

"No." That made me feel pathetic. Making rooms for people who weren't coming back."

"Ah, well, don't worry about it. He'll be back." Wilbur stepped into the room. "This is a nice room."

"What makes you so sure?" I asked. "And thanks."

"If I was his age and a girl like you asked me to move in with her, I'd come back. Hello, little fishy!" He stepped over to the jellyfish bowl.

"Don't touch it," I warned him without thinking. He scoffed. "Anyway, I don't think he thinks that way."

"I think he does," Wilbur chuckled. "How much convincing did it take for him to agree to move in? And after you had kicked his butt so many times."

"Yeah! What's 'a girl like me' supposed to mean, when all I do is wear armour and swing swords?" I waved my arms around as I spoke.

"Some men don't mind strong women. I mean, a guy like Jamal might have a problem with a tough girlfriend. He might get uncomfortably competitive. But, I'm sure many men are sick of the 'men as providers' stereotype. I assure you, if we had a woman who could do all the work, many of us wouldn't mind being trophy husbands."

I snickered.

"But, King Slime doesn't seem like the idle type," I pointed out.

"Then, maybe he's out doing something important," Wilbur suggested. "I'm just saying that, if I were him, I'd come back, at some point."

"Yeah, thanks." I stood up. "You know, I think this room is missing something."

"Is it torches?" Wilbur perked up. "I got plenty of those."

"Uh, no," I said, edging towards the door.

"How about an anvil?"

"I'm going to discuss it with Steve."

I left abruptly to avoid a sales pitch. I found Steve in the glass dining room.

"All finished with the room?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, kind of. I was hoping here was something else I could add," I showed him a Slime Block. "What else can I make with this?"

"That room is going to be so obnoxiously blue," Steve laughed when he saw. "The furniture doesn't always have to match the walls and floors, you know."

"My excuse is that it's in the shape of a Slime," I said, but I knew that I went a little theme-crazy, sometimes. Hey, any time they wanted to start constructing houses, they were free to do so.

Steve and I went over the furniture options. I could make a clock, but I liked the look of the bookshelves, better.

"But you don't have any books, do you?" Steve asked.

"No, but I'm sure I've seen some inside the dungeon," I said, furrowing my brows. Curse that Skeletron. "That is it. I will not be held back by the tyrannical reign of Skeletron any longer! It's time I lifted the curse and free that poor, old man!" I clenched my fists.

"Make sure to bring Healing Potions. You sure you don't want the Nurse to go with you?"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, as usual. And, no, I won't bring Jenna near that frickin' place."

I actually had to stock up on a lot of potions, before I left. I would use as many buffs as I could. I might have good armour, but my fighting skills were, apparently, still lacking.

Before I stepped past the tall gate, I spoke to Steve.

"Keep this door closed, okay?"

"Ugh!"

"And, if you see King Slime, let him know I'm sorry?"

He nodded at me and I left.

Sprinting was easy, at first, since I had terraformed most of the nearby area. I ran past the area where we fought the Goblin Army, over the pond, and through the Living Tree.

Now, I was on uneven ground. It took a bit of maneuvering with my Frostspark Boots to get over the fluctuating terrain.

I hadn't gone far when I sensed a familiar arrival. King Slime had awoken.

I expected to feel happy when he finally did come back, but I felt nervous. Not as nervous as when we first met and he was here to kill me, but the kind of nervous that came when interacting with other villagers.

I searched the ground and saw him climbing up the hill I had just overcome. He was in his Slime body, which wasn't very reassuring.

"King Slime!" I greeted. I hopped in front of him, but felt ready to dash away, should he aggress. But, he stood still. "You… look okay," I remarked. The Slime exterior was its full size.

He simply stood and stared.

"I… I'm sorry for sending you through the mirror without asking. I did it without thinking and I'm sorry."

Of course, he wasn't talking. But, he wasn't giving me any indication as to what he was thinking.

"I didn't mean to be disrespectful or to send you away. I thought you'd come right back."

Still no response.

"I only did it because I was scared. I'm always afraid of seeing my friends get hurt or… or killed."

"I remember the first night I spent in this world. I only had a pickaxe, axe, shortsword, and some wood and dirt. I had eaten what mushrooms I found, already. I didn't expect anything more dangerous than a Slime to make an appearance.

"But the night brought the sound of screams and gargled voices.

"When I first saw a Zombie, I thought it was another human. Instead, it was proof that humans once roamed this land but were killed. Horrified, I walled Steve up with some dirt and one of my three only torches.

"Then, the eyeballs came. The Demon Eyes threatened to get to Steve by flying over the walls, so I put a dirt roof over him, too.

"The rest of the night, I spent awake, fighting a losing battle against the monsters that I had come to learn shared this world with me. I thought I was going to die."

By this point, the waterworks had started, of course. So much for my promise not to cry in front of my villagers. I took off my helmet, finding it hard to breathe. I turned my back on King Slime to hide what I was sure would be a disgusting face of tears and snot.

"I can't bear that kind of isolation. And I projected my fears on to you. I probably always will. I'm a coward, and I'm afraid that I'm not strong enough to protect everyone."

I heard a splash and tried to hurry and wipe my face with my hands. Then, I heard a voice.

"No." It was young, but unmistakably man's, just as I had assessed, before, when he had sighed.

A hand on my shoulder forced me to turn around. King Slime was looking down at me.

"No?" I asked him. He didn't say anything, but shook his head. I waited for him to explain, but he didn't. Well… At least I knew he hadn't really taken a vow of silence.

"You know, if you talked more, you wouldn't have to listen to me go on like that," I joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Most of the villagers would have told me to shut up, by now."

That did get a smile out of him (as far as I could tell by his eyes,) and he shook his head, again.

"So, are you coming back to our house, then?" I asked. My heart was thumping painfully.

He nodded and took a deep breath to try and calm down.

"That's great! But, seriously, we need to get you some new weapons. It's not good to only fight by literally throwing yourself into the danger. Look…"

I pulled at some of my armour to show him a scar that started at the base of my neck. It continued a lot further than that, but I hopefully got my point across.

He leaned down and looked at it closely.

"That's from a Zombie armed with a… Zombie Arm…" the sentence sounded stupid and he seemed to grin at me. "I know, it sounds stupid, but, if you don't back away from a fight when your defences are down, this is what can happen – even with the most common of enemies."

He straightened and nodded at me.

"Great. Let's get you geared up."

* * *

For once, my hoarding was of use. I still had my Meteor Armour and all of the weapons I had used, so far. King Slime and I were happily digging through my Weapons, Equipment, and Clothing chests.

"They laughed at me for keeping them during the move. Told me they'd take them off my hands for a fair price. Look who's laughing, now?" I showed the armour to King Slime. He looked at me, skeptically. "Okay. Neither of us are laughing, but it was only a figure of speech… What's wrong?" I asked when he continued to not take the armour or do _anything_.

He tugged on his Ninja Shirt.

"Yeah, but do you wear armour underneath?"

He tilted his head.

"The Ninja Armour looks cool, but it doesn't have much in the way of defence. That's why I wear it over top of my Molten Armour," I showed him the Molten Helmet I wore under the Ninja Helmet. He jumped back a step, his eyes wide with horror. What? Did he not know to put aesthetic armour over top of practical armour? Geez.

"Or, do you have Molten Armour, already?" I asked.

He shook his head.

"Okay, then, do you have Meteor Armour?" I shook the armour piece I was holding.

Another head shake.

"Then, take this, already! You've got to wear this underneath, or you'll have, like, no defence!"

He hesitantly took it.

"And, what do you want for weapons? Oh, I don't have… I could make you a Fiery Greatsword like mine…"

He shook his head.

"What do you mean, 'no?!' We just talked about this: you need new weapons. Or, do you mean that you already have weapons?"

He pointed to himself.

"Besides yourself."

He stiffened.

"It couldn't hurt to at least have them on you. For me? Here, look, this is a ninja sword – a Katana."

His eyes lit up at "Ninja" and he took the Katana.

"I was only kidding," I said, "It barely does a quarter of the damage my sword does."

But he was already practicing with it, slashing it through the air quicker than I had ever managed. I supposed proficiency could potentially overwhelm brute force.

"Okay, fine. How about projectiles?"

He sheathed his sword and pulled some Shurikens out of his pocket.

"Oh, good, you already have some." I said, trying to sound encouraging. I realized I probably sounded patronizing. "But how about something… I dunno… Stronger?"

He scowled and crossed his arms.

"Seriously."

He didn't move.

"Fine! How about this?" I smashed open my explosive chests and grabbed some grenades and combined them with Slime to make Sticky Grenades. "Do blue, Slimy, explosives suit you?"

He had been standing with his arms still stubbornly crossed the whole time I was crafting, but his eyes lit up when he saw the blue grenades. He took them.

"Great. Just freaking great. Well, remind me to get that Katana reforged by Grodax before we go anywhere. It probably can be reinforced to deal more damage, hopefully."

"Mensa?" Steve called from upstairs. I opened the trap door and he fell through. "It is you!" He smiled at King Slime, who stopped messing with his Sticky Grenades and nodded. "Good to have you back. Did you show him the room you made him, Mensa?"

King Slime looked at me and I tensed up. I had, kind of, forgotten about making him a room, and the idea of showing it to him while he knew it was intended for him was scary. What if he didn't like it, but felt obligated to take it? Now, I would never know what he truly thought about it.

"Uh, you don't have to take it, if you don't want. I just thought it would make you feel more at home."

He pointed at me, then himself.

"You want me to show you?"

He nodded.

"Okay, but, seriously, you don't have to take it."

He waved his hands in a shooing motion, and I took that as my cue to get moving. I led him up the stairs to where I had added his room. Thanks to my strange paint job that made the house look like it was being Slimed, the room could be discerned from the outside. King Slime caught sight of it and hopped ahead of me, through the Slime door. I rushed, too, wanting to catch his first reaction, in case it was bad.

When he looked in the room, he let out a laugh.

"Wha ha ha!"

It was so wild and un-composed. Not at all as dignified as I would have expected from a King. He threw his arms in the air and sprinted around the room. I couldn't help but smile at the ridiculous behaviour. No one else got so excited over a room I built them. I usually expected to get a list of complaints.

When he had thoroughly run around the room, he engaged his Slime Hook and hung off the ceiling.

"Are you okay? You're not stuck, are you?" I asked, and then cringed. God, I sounded like a mom, sometimes.

He got down.

"You like it?" I asked.

He nodded and walked up to me.

"Good, and you can-" I didn't get to finish the sentence because he pulled me into a friendly hug. I almost lost my balance when he let go to look at the jellyfish.

"Do you think your Magic Mirror will work, now?" I asked, watching him carefully to make sure he didn't poke the damn thing.

He turned his head and nodded at me. Then, he looked out his window.

"Good. And don't think of this room as a limitation, of course. We all like visitors. You can come to me any time you need."

He didn't turn his gaze away from the window. I watched him, wanting to talk, more, but unsure of what to say. His return had gone so smoothly, I didn't want to ruin it. I was just about to leave when he lifted a finger in the air, as if he had just remembered something. He walked up to me and tossed some things into my arms.

They were three Slime Crowns. Just in case.


	7. Chapter 7

I think I might have 1 consistent reader… Send me a review or pm or something. We could talk about Terraria or King Slime… we could be friends and play Terraria together!

* * *

"It was just one word," I told Steve, "There's no need to get so worked up about it. Especially considering the word was 'no.'"

"Okay, but you realize it is a really good sign that he can talk, right?" He stood at the edge of my bed, where I was lazily pretending to be interested in a book. "Even Nymphs don't talk. I think this could be a sign that he is human."

"Would it really be rude for me to ask what species he is?"

"Probably not, but I'm pretty sure he's human, now." Steve moved to lean on the chest I kept in my bedroom. "What do you have in here?"

"Weird things. They didn't really have a place to go in the storage room."

"Growing out of this place, already?"

"God, I hope not."

He opened the chest, I assumed to see if he could make sense of the mess. He pulled out the voodoo doll I had found in the Underworld of him. He looked at it darkly.

"You don't think, maybe, you're getting a little distracted by King Slime?" he asked.

"Distracted? Where is this coming from?" I sat up.

"Well, you're supposed to be purifying the world. And, the other day, before he showed up, you were off to fight Skeletron. You've done none of these things."

"Is there a rush? Alalia says the world is only 6% Corrupt."

Steve stared at the doll a minute before answering.

"No," he tossed the doll back in the chest, "I suppose there's no rush. Just thought it'd be easier to get it over with."

"I guess so…" Maybe this drama with King Slime had distracted me from purifying the world? In fact, it almost definitely had.

Shamefully, it was all too easy for me to become distracted. New building projects, hidden treasures, monster banners, all of these things could keep me busy for days, while I completely neglected to prepare for the next battle. It was so easy, sometimes, to ignore the world's problems – especially since most of them were so far away from where I lived.

"Maybe you're just not feeling ready?" Steve suggested.

"No, I'm probably as ready as I'll ever be. We can't think of any better weapons or armour I could make, can we?"

"None," Steve confirmed. He shut the chest. "I don't mean to put pressure on you. I know you've put a lot of investment into the world. But, you also need to live your own life, too."

"This is my life," I told him, standing and stretching. "And I wouldn't have it any other way. Well, maybe I'd change the amount of danger that exists in the world, but…"

"Aren't you going to sleep?" Steve asked. "The sun will be down in another hour."

"Which means I should really get a move on if I want to maximize the amount of time I spend fighting Skeletron."

Steve crossed his arms, but didn't stop me when I passed him to go through the trap door.

In the storage room, I picked out my Star Canon – a weapon reserved for the toughest of enemies – and all of the Fallen Stars I had collected, so far. Collecting stars was easier, thanks to the skybridge, but I still didn't have more than a few hundred. I would have to use them sparingly and only as a last resort.

I was about to head back upstairs when the gate opened and King Slime walked in. He still headed out on his solo missions frequently.

"Hey, King Slime!" I greeted.

He gave a playful wave.

"Good to see you, elusive one."

He tilted his head at me.

"Well, where do you go all day?"

He punched his palm.

"Fighting? Who?"

He tossed a Rotten Chunk at me. Okay, ew.

"You mean you just go around fighting Eater of Souls, all day? Why?"

He didn't answer. I tossed the chunk back at him. I didn't need more and he had earned it, I was sure.

"You know, fighting the Corruption is more tedious than just fighting Corrupt monsters. You have to purify the world. Did you buy Purification Powder from Alalia?"

He shook his head. I frowned.

"Um, not to say that you've been wasting your time, but… you might want to talk to Alalia before fighting any more Corrupt. Listen, I gotta go. I'm going to try my hand at beating Skeletron, again."

He gave his signature fighting gesture.

"Oh, boy. You're really gonna stress me out."

There was no response, except the stubborn look in his eyes.

"Okay, but if I say retreat, we retreat, okay? And we'd better get some potions in you, before we go."

* * *

It was getting dark, so I led the way with a torch. My Shadow Orb lagged behind, which worked out well for King Slime, who followed its light. That pet barely qualified as a light source. It was always mysteriously hidden or far away when I needed it, but decidedly shining in my eyes when I was focusing on construction.

Ah, well. At least it was serving some purpose, now.

The Fire Imp helped light up the night by setting Zombies on fire. At least we wouldn't be snuck up on.

When we arrived at the Dungeon, King Slime looked up at the arena I had made out of cactus. It loomed above the old castle and looked completely out of place. He snickered and pointed at it.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not that big on cactus, it was just handy." I gestured to the desert surrounding us. "Now, did you take those potions I gave you?"

He furrowed his eyebrows. That was not an affirmative. But, then, he nodded his head.

"Did you?" I pressed. I didn't want to call him a liar, but he was normally pretty straightforward with 'yes' or 'no' questions.

He hung his head and kicked at the Pink Brick.

"You've gotta drink them. And eat the food. You'll need every boost you can get against this guy. I'm not kidding."

He hesitated, but pulled down the fabric covering his mouth and pulled the food out of his pockets. His face was blank as he sat down to eat. My heart raced when I realized what might have been bothering him. This was the first time I had ever seen his face. I almost overlooked that fact because he looked… totally average… as far as I could tell at this time of night, anyway.

I lowered my torch, obscuring him further. If he wasn't comfortable being seen, I wouldn't stare.

Although, I was curious…

Nope. I reminded myself to be professional.

Instead, I pulled out my potions and cooked fish and ate with him. We finished up with the potions and I pointed at a rope that hung from the arena.

"I'll meet you up there in a second."

He readjusted his helmet and leaped over me to get to the rope. I went down the rope, since I had dug out a hole for quick access from the Old Man to the arena.

It was easy to tell that I had done this, before. And yet, no success. And, now, I was dragging King Slime into this. As the Old Man came into view, I tried to convince myself that this was King Slime's choice, and not my fault. Instead of calming down, I felt my stomach twist in knots.

The Old Man caught sight of me.

"Please!" he called. I scrunched my eyes shut. He wasn't making this any easier. "Battle my captor and free me! I beg you!"

He was getting desperate. I lost count of the number of times I had come, promising to free him but fleeing when I had failed.

"Alright," I said. "I'll fight your curse."

The Old Man vanished, and a sinister laugh echoed off the Dungeon walls.

Skeletron had awakened.

I scaled back up the rope as quickly as I could, jumping in to the arena as soon as my boots could reach. King Slime stared at me with wide eyes, and I looked beneath me to see Skeletron's giant head right behind me.

I activated my Slimy Saddle before it could catch up and hopped off its head and on to the arena. Safe, so far. But, it was only a matter of time before-

King Slime's body was swatted away like a fly by one of Skeletron's hands.

"Oh, no, you big, freaky…" I used my Diamond Staff to hit it from far away. If I hurt it enough, it might target me instead of King Slime, which was preferable.

I saw King Slime climb a wall of the arena to stand on top of it. He must have been using Tiger Climbing Gear. It was good to see that he was okay – and fairly far away.

For the most part, dodging the hands was no trouble. I stayed on the Slime Mount to jump over them when they slashed at me. As I'd hoped, Skeletron focused its attacks on me. King Slime was dealing very little damage, throwing Shurikens from his position and slashing occasionally with his Katana when a hand got too close.

I tried to focus my fire on the head, knowing what would come once one of the hands were destroyed, but it was easy hitting the hands with my Greatsword when they got close, and I had little else to do while waiting for my mana to return.

All too soon, the hand closest to King Slime was defeated. The Cursed Skulls made their appearance.

"Damn!" I dismounted. It was more important to be able to dash with my Shield of Cthulhu than it was to hop over the one remaining hand.

I avoided the lineup of skulls to take out the other hand with my sword. It was weakened and only took a few swings to die.

Skeletron let out a sinister taunt.

"It only gets harder from here!" I warned King Slime, "Make sure you- oof!" I was interrupted by a Cursed Skull that caught up to me. "... Take a potion if you need it." Taking my own advice, I quickly downed a Healing Potion.

I couldn't focus on my surroundings enough to check on King Slime. The indestructible skulls were flying at me from both sides and Skeletron's head was also making an effort to run into me, spinning. I couldn't dodge them all, my arena was too small.

But Skeletron's head was also taking a lot of damage. My imp, Slime King, and I ignored the Cursed Skulls and focused all of our attacks on it. I could tell it was getting weaker, because it was becoming more aggressive with its attacks.

It got easier to see the behemoth skull. The sun was rising. I swore.

"This guy's gotta die, or this will all be for nothing!" I wasn't sure if King Slime could hear or understand me. I pulled out my Star Canon and fired. My aim wasn't great while avoiding the Cursed Skulls, but that was why I brought so many stars with me.

Rage filled Skeletron as it hurled itself towards me. Adrenaline provided a temporary distraction from the pain of its attacks, but I knew my body would be ruined if this kept up.

The best way to defend myself from Skeletron, at this point, was to kill it. I refused to pull my finger off the trigger. A ridiculous line of stars fired at the Skull, who was only easier to aim at up close.

My back hit the wall. Damn! I was cornered. But, I was so close. Skeletron was almost dead. Then again, so was I. I kept firing with my back pressed against the wall. Every Cursed Skull fired hit me.

Suddenly, Skeletron's head burst. There was a sound like thunder that I recognized as an explosion – though I had never heard an explosion so close, before.

The blast sent my head crashing into the wall behind me, and my ears rang. Shards of Skeletron's skull hit me, but not nearly with the force or pain of a Cursed Skull. The sounds of bones hitting the arena floor were dulled. Every part of my body felt like it was reverberating. I couldn't breathe.

King Slime was in front of me in moments. He grabbed my shoulders to look me in the eye. I gasped for air.

"I'm fine," I choked out. He didn't look convinced, but that was probably because I was in the worst condition I've ever been in. "I mean I- I will be."

I tried to lean forward, feeling sick and awful, but King Slime held me up. I pushed him away so that I could keel over and lean against the wall. On the floor behind the king, I could see a Treasure Bag and some items made of bone.

"Get the things," I instructed, waving my hand forward meekly. He turned to pick them up and I rested my head against the wall, closing my eyes to avoid the migraine that I was sure I wouldn't really be able to avoid.

King Slime forced my head from its resting place and patted my shoulder with his other hand.

"I'm awake," I told him. I felt his hands pulling at my face mask and that upset me. I opened my eyes and saw a Healing Potion. "I can't drink that, yet. Just give me a sec." I rested my eyes, again.

The pain was getting worse, now that nothing could distract me from it. King Slime kept trying to shake me awake, to which I would groan and tell him I was awake and could he just give me a moment.

"Mensa!"

When he said my name, I opened my eyes, only to be met with my own. And with a flash of light that increased the pain in my head tenfold, I was forced on to my feet in my bedroom.

I promptly aimed my body to land on the bed, missed, and settled for the stone bricks when I couldn't bring myself to stand back up.


	8. Chapter 8

Why is the Clothier Tom Hanks? Almost all of his lines are from Tom Hanks' roles.

Sorry for the time it took to post this chapter. I've been having some pretty disturbing family problems that have required my attention for many hours, and then I had to recover from the experience of it. But, I'm quite happy to be writing, again.

Many thanks to the users that totally made my day: agklover1221, Ragingvortex, and, of course, my first ever reviewer: V1ralGam3r! I'd send you a PM, but it was anonymous. I hope not to disappoint!

* * *

I dreamed of the Underworld. I don't remember much about the dream, except that I was terrified. And uncomfortably warm.

When I woke up, I was, indeed, uncomfortably warm. I was in the medical room. There was a blanket over me. I didn't sleep with a blanket. Come to think of it, I didn't really sleep, much, at all.

Finding the blanket suffocating, I shoved it off of me, but the heat didn't subside. In fact, it got worse and pain creeped its way throughout my limbs. The worst pain was in my head.

"Mensa." Was that King Slime? Talking, again? I tried to sit up, but Jenna swooped to my side and put a firm hand on my shoulder.

"Easy does it," the Nurse warned me, "At least make sure you're healed before you go flying off."

So, I sat up slower than normal. I rubbed my forehead.

"Got a thing for my head pain?" I asked.

"Yeah. A bed," Jenna snapped. "Sounds like you got stuck with a grenade."

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "No, I wasn't. Why would you say that?"

"Hey, nobody tells me anything. All I see is your torn-up, unconscious body and, when I asked what happened, he showed me a Sticky Grenade." Jenna looked purposefully at the king. He was looking at the floor, and his helmet shaded his eyes.

"Why did you tell her you stuck me with a grenade?" I asked. He made eye contact with me and I saw the guilt in his eyes. "But, you didn't!"

"If you can't remember it, then that's a bad sign," Jenna sighed. "I'm going to tell the others you're awake and seem stable. Get some rest, would you? King Slime? You'll make sure she doesn't run off?"

King Slime nodded. Great. Now I'm being babysat.

I heard the garden door open and I realized how stupidly I had made the house. She'd have a long way to walk before she got to talk to everyone. It was easy for me, since I used trap doors, but the villagers didn't like landing from high off the ground – even though I'd seen them do it, before.

King Slime sat on the table in front of my bed.

"Why'd you tell her that you got me with a grenade? She's never going to let me out, now," I asked him. His guilty eyes returned, shifting around the floor as he wrung his hands.

From his pocket he procured a Sticky Grenade and pointed at it.

"Yeah, I get it. You think you got me with a grenade, but, you didn't. It was Skeletron that-" I stopped talking when I remembered Skeletron's head exploding. "Unless you mean that you threw the grenade at Skeletron?"

He pocketed the grenade, again. He bowed his head and nodded.

"That's what that was…" I threw my head back and laughed. Then, I grimaced. That made my head worse. "I knew you didn't hit me! You killed Skeletron, though!"

I grinned at him, but he did not return the happy gesture.

"Sorry," he said.

"Don't worry about it," I lied back down. "These things happen. I'm glad you blew Skeletron up."

Still, he wasn't looking up from the floor. His eyes flashed up to meet mine, and I was struck by how dark they were… and how upset they looked.

"Seriously. I forgive you, King Slime."

When he nodded, I stopped craning my neck. I didn't like resting, especially now that I knew we could explore the dungeon without the Guardian coming to get us. But, I liked the pain a lot less than I liked idleness.

"Forid."

I crumpled my eyes at the ceiling.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

He pointed at himself.

"Forid?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Huh," I relaxed my head, again. "Forid." I tested the name out. It was shameful to admit, but I thought his name was simply King Slime. Well, it was an honour to learn his real name.

* * *

It wasn't long before I was out of bed. I only gave my body enough time to stop hurting, and then Forid and I were running around the castle, preparing to leave and explore the Dungeon.

"Just out of curiosity," Steve asked me as we rummaged through chests, "did you happen to use that Worm Scarf of yours, or did you only wear it for looks?"

"Huh?" I checked my neck and, sure enough, the Worm Scarf was there. "Oh, yeah, I couldn't use all of my accessories at once, but I like the way the scarf looks. Why?"

Steve scoffed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb.

"Next time you fight a boss, maybe consider actually equipping the scarf? For example, you don't need flippers in a battle that takes place in an arena, do you?"

"Yeah, I suppose not," I said. Switching equipment around last minute generally distracted me from the arrival of an enemy, but it was probably a good idea.

Forid pointed at the scarf and raised his hands in an animated shrug.

"Oh, it reduces damage taken by 10%" I told him.

He slapped his forehead, or, more accurately, he smacked the front of his helmet.

"Actually, it reduces damage taken by 17%" Steve corrected me. "That's why I'd recommend it over your flippers."

"Woah," I said.

Forid's hands smacked his sides and he widened his eyes at me.

Yeah, yeah, stupid me. Curse me for not wanting to drown… in an arena in the desert.

Forid needed to stock up on Shurikens before we left, so we went to visit Wilbur. While Forid paid Wilbur, I browsed through his merchandise and saw something new.

"Wilbur, what's this?" I asked.

"You like it? I just got them in stock. It's a Safe, acts just like a piggy bank, but doesn't require a table to put it on."

It was expensive, but I purchased one and stored it in my Piggy Bank. Sure, it was one less item I could store in the bank, but it was a whole chest's worth of storage on its own, so it was well worth the space. A little cumbersome to get to, perhaps, but it would save a back and forth trip if we needed extra storage.

The Safe proved its usefulness immediately. The Dungeon was filled with furniture and weapons and what I wouldn't use I wanted to take home to sell. I tried to convince Forid to use a Water Bolt, but he refused, preferring, instead, to use the Blue Moon Flail he had found. He looked like he was having fun swinging it around the room like a maniac. I preferred the Water Bolt, but I was well equipped for magic items.

Forid did, however, upgrade his Katana to a Muramasa. Since he rarely accepted new weapons, I wanted him to have the sword, but I was envious of it, until we found a second one. I couldn't wait to show it to Steve and make a Night's Edge.

I was pretty excited to see an Alchemy Table. Steve had told me about them, before. I couldn't remember why I wanted one, only that it would be useful.

My favourite Dungeon find, bar none, were the books. Finally! Books!

"Mensa!"

I was taking my second stack of books and throwing them in the Safe when I heard Forid calling me. I shut the Safe, packed it up, and lit a torch. The light shone on two hallways going in two different directions and many doors in the walls above me.

"Where are you at?" I called. The spiky end of Forid's flail hit the floor at the end of one of the hallways, so I ran there.

Forid was standing over a bound girl. I almost told him to untie her, until I saw the group of Angry Bones attacking him. I ran to her and cut the ropes that tied her up.

"Thanks," she said – rather cheerfully for a girl who had been stuck in this Dungeon for God knows how long, "It was only a matter of time before I ended up like the rest of the skeletons down here."

"I would not let that happen," I told her, though I wondered if the Angry Bones were like the Zombies: once people, but now, undead. Forid returned from taking care of the Angry Bones. "And neither would he," I added.

"We should get her home," I told Forid, and he nodded. "Will you come with us?" I asked her.

"Sure, so long as we get to leave this place."

Her name was Sophia. Usually, villagers found their own way to my place. However, seeing as how we found Sophia underground and surrounded by monsters, much like how I found Grodax, Forid and I decided to escort her all the way back to our house. This suited me just fine – I had found way more stuff than I expected and we could always come back another day.

It was dark by the time we left the Dungeon, so I led the way, with my light pet trailing behind, as usual. Forid and I were both excitedly using our Muramasas to destroy Zombies. My Fiery Greatsword was, overall, a better weapon, but I enjoyed trying out the Muramasa.

It wasn't hard getting Sophia home. Night time was so much less threatening than it used to be. I guess I was getting stronger. At this rate, protecting my villagers was looking easier.

When I combined my swords to make a Night's Edge (Forid was willing to craft and weild one, also, for which I was grateful) and had it reforged, I showed it to Steve.

"Wow!" He looked like he wanted to hold it, and I offered the hilt to him, but he withdrew his hand. "The next step would be to find a Broken Hero Sword and combine it with this one to make True Night's Edge."

I slumped my shoulders. There were still stronger weapons out there?

"And where do I find a Broken Hero Sword?" I asked. Steve shook his head.

"I don't expect I will ever see one in my life."

"Damn. That rare, huh?"

Steve shrugged, and I thought, perhaps, he was looking down, again. But, he smiled at me. It was a little reassuring.

* * *

The girl who moved in, Sophia, was a Mechanic. The next morning, the Old Man moved in, too. He was free of his curse and wanted to set up a tailor shop in our house. However, the only room available, since Sophia had taken the cactus room, was the pumpkin room. I decided it didn't suit him very well, and set out building a new room for him.

I decided not to build higher than I already had. I liked the roof the way it was and didn't feel like changing the skybridge rope _again_. Besides, I had already dug out a large space for artificial biomes. It was about time I fixed up that area of the house.

Oddly, I ignored most of the furniture I found in the Dungeon. It was either too pink or too gloomy for my taste. Instead, I used a lot of Dynasty Furniture. It reminded me of our first home, which was heartening.

Forid didn't stick around to help with construction. That was fine. For me, building was a creative process. Even the tedious task of digging and filling holes was therapeutic.

Although only one new room was needed, I ended up building five new rooms. I guess I got carried away, as usual. But, hey, more is better, right? I hope so. I clapped my hands together to remove some of the dust and dirt that had collected and went to the storage room to return excess materials.

When I first set out to build the house, I thought I'd have more of a plan as to how the house would be made. Now, touring the completed rooms downstairs, I realized that, for the most part, the house was really just pieced together as the need arose. Ah, well. It was better than my old house. I liked the location, better, and the old house was built in such a way that I couldn't imagine expanding it.

Well! Now that the Clothier had a safe place to stay, my next objective was to fix my style… or, more accurately, lack thereof.

I found Rupert in the lounge I built outside his room.

"How do you like the space?" I asked him.

"I like it very much, thank you," he replied. He was all too happy to sell to me. "I guess that makes you my first customer!"

"When the villagers see what you can make, I'm sure you'll have plenty more," I smiled.

I settled on purchasing Familiar Clothes. I couldn't be accused of copying anyone's style if I dressed exclusively like myself. However, I kept my Frostspark Boots and Worm Scarf visible. I liked the way the boots looked, though I would need to dye them to make them match my outfit.

The new clothes were a little intimidating. I didn't look like a fighter, anymore. Instead, I looked rather unimposing. Despite this, I was sure no one would call me scrawny or weak – especially not after beating Skeletron.

"Waaah!"

In the room behind us, I heard Forid scream. Oh, dear… I had left a trapdoor open, hadn't I?

I thanked Rupert, paid him, and then hurried into the other room.

"I'm sorry, Forid! I meant to put a platform there…" I looked around the room, but didn't see the king anywhere. "Forid?"

"Mensa?" His voice came from the ceiling. His Slime Hook was stuck in the top corner of the room, and he looked down at me as if I was pouring burning lava on to the floor.

"You okay?" I asked. He detached himself from the ceiling and let himself land on the floor. He looked at me sideways with suspicion in his eyes. I realized that I probably looked totally different. "Oh. I just bought these clothes from Rupert. How do I look?"

Inwardly, I cringed. _How do I look?_ As if King Slime would have an opinion about how I looked. It didn't really matter, so long as I remained a capable warrior.

He stood in front of me. He still hadn't responded. I was used to his silence, but he normally gave a visual cue that he understood. I was just about to ask him what his deal was when he slowly reached a hand out. It looked like he was going to point at something, but his hand kept travelling until he held some of my hair.

Um, okay. No one but Scarlett had ever touched my hair, before. Was it bad for a guy to touch my hair? Like, if it were Jamal, I would probably run away. But, if it was Steve, I probably wouldn't care, since he was a trusted friend. So, gender didn't matter. What did it mean that the lord of all things slimy had some of my hair in his hand? My hair was long, so it wasn't like his hand was too close to my face. I couldn't even feel it. If he wasn't right in front of me, I would have no idea that he had my hair.

Great, now, I was the speechless one. Since I couldn't figure out what his intent was or how I felt about it, I just stood there, dumbly.

He retracted his hand, letting my hair fall away as he did so. He finally stopped staring at the purple strands and made eye contact with me. I think he must have realized that, socially, this situation would probably be classified as awkward. He scrunched his eyes shut, looked down and cleared his throat. Then, he forcibly grabbed my whole ponytail and gave it a nasty tug.

"Ow!" I shouted, pulling away from him, "Why did you do that, you brat?!"

He looked at me, wide-eyed, as if he didn't know what was going on but was scared, nonetheless. He leaped away, back through the trapdoor.

I put my hands on my hips. If he wanted to tease me, why didn't he just cut to the chase? But, perhaps more importantly, what was going on with my reaction, the whole time?

Did I miss something?


	9. Chapter 9

I don't think many girls like being annoyed by the guys they like, but, unfortunately, Forid is loosely based off of my stupid idiot of a boyfriend. Can't help it. He's important to me. And he's a ninja, so it helped me with the potential psychology of King Slime.

By the way, I just beat Skeletron Prime in expert mode! It's the first Mechanical Boss I've beaten. Until now, I thought, perhaps, I would never be good enough to beat a Mechanical Boss. D:

* * *

The air around us changed. It was heavy. By the time I realized what happened, it was too late for me to do anything to stop it.

Jamal was spitting with fury.

"You're going to regret that," he didn't yell the words. His tone was collected.

"Jamal," I tried to speak soothingly, but he turned on me.

"And you. How could you side with _him_?" he pointed to King Slime.

Seriously, I didn't mean to be lumped in with him. But, before I could make my case, Alalia barged in.

"Now you will learn what happens when you mess with Jenna!" the Dryad declared. I couldn't see what weapon she had procured – she just took aim and fired.

I grabbed Forid's hand. I didn't choose for this to happen, but he had chosen me and I'll be damned if I betrayed his trust, now.

It was too late to change my mind, after all.

* * *

 _Three days earlier…_

Forid had taken a particular interest in the storage room.

"You're welcome to take anything you like," I told him. "These resources are for everyone."

Without taking his eyes off the chests, he nodded and scooped up a bunch of blue items into his arms. I sighed. His fascination with blue was… ridiculous.

Then, when I browsed through the chests, I realized he was taking _his_ things – as in, treasures I had taken from him every time I beat him in a fight. Alright, that was fair.

"Mensa," I jumped at the sound of a male voice, but realized it was just Steve.

"Oh, hey," I said.

"I was thinking, before you went back to the Underworld, you might want to explore the jungle a little more thoroughly. There are many treasures to be discovered in the jungle, if you are willing to dig deep enough."

"Hah, look who you're talking to," I said, copying Forid's fighting gesture, "I'm _always_ willing to dig deep enough. But, I don't remember saying I was ever going back to the Underworld." In fact, I would prefer not to go there, except, perhaps, to build Forid some better armour.

Steve actually seemed surprised by my remark.

"Why? Do I have to return to the Underworld?" I asked.

"Well," he thought about his answer carefully, "like I said, before, there is no rush… However, I would recommend investigating the jungle."

"Well, if you say so," I replied casually. It had been a while since I was at the jungle. I could get some Rich Mahogany while I was there. I'd need to take the skybridge, and I should probably bring some glowsticks…

"And while you're there, you can catch me a Mudfish!" Eavesdropping, again, Timmy pushed his way around Steve to point a commanding finger at me.

"Didn't I already get you a Mudfish?" I asked with drooping eyes.

"It's my favourite fish. I could never have too many pet Mudfish. Make it snappy!"

"Would it kill you to say 'please?'?" I asked his retreating figure. Steve chuckled. Was I the only one in the house who was not entertained by that child?

"Were we that rude when we were young?" I asked Steve. He shrugged.

"He says he doesn't have a mom or dad. That's a more likely explanation for his cheek."

I sighed. An orphan? How could I stay mad at that?

"Guess I'll pack a fishing rod," I grumbled.

Forid strolled back into the room.

"Ah, maybe you'd like to go with Mensa to the jungle?" Steve asked. I faced the Guide sharply. "She's going treasure hunting." I tried to gesture to him to shut his mouth, but that failed, since Forid almost caught me. "You guys might even find a new boss to fight."

"You don't have to feel obligated," I warned Forid. But he raised his fists in the air and shouted,

"Yeah!"

Steve raised his eyebrows at me and I scowled in return. Forid was already walking out the front door. The new pressure plates I had installed, many thanks to Sophia, closed the Tall Gate behind him.

"What's the matter?" Steve asked. "Why wouldn't you want King Slime to go with you?" He took on a scolding tone. "You're not stressing yourself out trying to protect him, are you? He can take care of himself."

"I know he can take care of himself," I hissed.

"Then, what is it?"

It wasn't so long ago that he had grabbed my hair. I was still trying to figure that incident out. Was there even anything to figure out? I didn't know. And I didn't know who I wanted to talk about it, yet. Jenna would probably want me to tell her, but Wilson seemed to have more insight into the king – he was right about his return, after all… Steve was my closest friend, so it might be best to talk to him about it…

But, not _now_!

"I'd say by your facial expression that some time alone with him might be beneficial."

I realized with horror that I was blushing. I sputtered something incoherent; though, I'm sure it was supposed to be threatening.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." He didn't look sorry. "But, please travel with him. It puts my mind at ease."

"What? Why?"

"Because! Otherwise, you're just out there on your own. Remember what happened with Skeletron?"

"Yeah, someone threw a grenade dangerously close to me," I sneered.

"Well, he's better equipped, now. You know that you wouldn't have beat Skeletron on time without his help. And then you'd have been stranded out there in a lot worse condition."

"Look, you've already made up his mind about this," I said, turning to leave, "I'd better not keep him waiting."

"Take care, Mensa."

"Keep this door shut."

I grinned at his annoyed expression.

* * *

Forid was splashing through the water, standing on his Slime mount as if it was a surf board.

"Forid, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting, but could you stop, please? I think you're scaring the fish away."

I was sitting on the edge of the porch of a small jungle hut I made back when Jungle Bats were still a significant threat. He hopped out of the water, dismounted, and sat next to me.

"Thanks, Forid. As soon as I catch one of these stupid Mudfish, we can go explore."

He nodded and leaned back. I felt a tug on the line and reeled it in. Forid sat up, probably as hopeful as I was that it was a Mudfish.

It was another Neon Tetra.

"Damn."

I added it to the pile.

In his disappointment, Forid flopped on his back to lie on the porch.

"Yeah, I know." I dangled my feet over the porch. "You like seafood?"

"Hm," he shrugged. "Sashimi."

I had a feeling he liked oriental things. Probably just my imagination.

Normally, I found fishing entertaining. Opening crates to find ores and unique treasures was pretty exciting. But, knowing that I had a purpose somewhere else made fishing almost torturous.

The line went taught, again, and I reeled it in.

"Finally!" It was a Mudfish. I put it in my pocket. Forid was already on his feet and offered me a hand up.

"Thanks. Now, I think we should dig a new hole. The way I used to explore the jungle was totally disorganized and difficult to navigate. Anything worth our time will be deep underground, so I think we should dig straight down."

He nodded.

"We won't come across lava, I don't think, but you don't want to fall too far away, anyway. And not because you could hurt yourself with a bad landing. There are Hornets and Man Eaters and poisonous Spiked Slimes."

Forid pointed at himself with his thumbs.

"Okay, so we don't have to worry about the Slimes, but everything in the jungle is awful. It's best we stick together."

He furrowed his eyebrows, but nodded.

Mining with another person was immensely more satisfying than mining on my own. Digging was much faster and enemies now faced two of us. We couldn't be snuck up on. We almost moved too quickly, nearly missing Tungsten and Life Crystals, which I gave to Forid to consume.

It wasn't long before we fell into a particularly Hornet-infested area. According to my map, I had been near here, before. I probably avoided it because of all the Hornets. But, this time, I had Forid. And, between the two of us, we had a Blue Moon Flail and a Water Bolt. Those nasty bugs never knew what hit 'em. And, to be honest, neither did I. Was it my Water Bolt or Forid's flail? In any case, we hopped around a cave littered with Hornet corpses, lighting it up with torches as we went.

I was extracting some Tungsten when I heard Forid call to me.

"Mensa!"

"What is it?" I ran to the direction where I heard his voice. There was light shining from the torches he left behind. They led me to what I could only assume was the explanation for all the Hornets. At first, I thought it was a gold brick structure. As I approached, I recognized it as a beehive. "Oh, God… Forid… are you in there?" I hoped not. I didn't want to disturb a giant colony of bees.

"Sticky!" The voice came from inside the hive.

Rats.

I found a whole that he must have dug to get inside and stepped in. Fortunately, no more bees were on the inside. The hive expanded to be a little bigger than my old house and, stuck at the bottom was Forid. I jumped to land beside him.

"Wait!" he threw his hands out in a warning, but I didn't sink in like he did. He watched as I pulled out my pickaxe, unaffected by the Honey Blocks that he was stuck in.

"It's my boots. They keep me from falling in," I told him as I broke up the Honey Blocks. "I thought you liked sticky things?"

He scoffed. As soon as his feet were free, he used his Slime Hook to cling to the edge of the hive, away from the honey. I put wood platforms over the substance so that he could walk freely, but he decided not to come down. He pointed at something behind me.

It was a bee encased in what looked like more honey or bee's wax.

"Ew," I approached it slowly, as if the bee could crawl out of its container at any moment. "Let's leave that alone."

Since I got close to it, Forid decided to join me. It was eerie to look at. Its big black eyes stared vacantly ahead of it.

Forid was knocked forward. I saw a stinger in his back.

"Hey!" I turned around and, without thinking, launched a water ball as soon as I caught sight of the offending hornet. Forid joined in. The hornet fell. But, then, we watched as the Water Bolt's projectile bounced off the wall of the hive and headed right for the larva I was standing by.

When it collided, the larva shattered. I let out an involuntary scream and jumped away from it. The last thing I wanted was to be stung by that disgusting bug. But, the bee that was contained in the wax disappeared.

"Oh." Hopefully that was the end of that.

But, Forid and I looked at each other when we both sensed the approach of a sinister creature. Queen Bee had awoken.

I saw her before Forid did. She was expertly weaving her way through the catacombs of her hive. She charged straight for us.

"Jump!" I shouted. I used my Frostspark Boots to propel myself out of the way while Forid used his hook, which seemed to be his default whenever he was surprised.

Aside from being gross, with her six legs and freaky, soulless eyes, Queen Bee was not much of a match for us. We dodged her charge attacks easily enough using Slime Mounts. But, watching her body deteriorate while we casually used our weapons was almost disappointing. Was this the best the world had to throw at us? After fighting Skeletron, this monster felt no more challenging than a Blood Moon and took up barely half the time.

It was Forid who delivered the final blow, scattering her body parts all over the hive.

"Oh my God," I sounded like a bimbo, but I didn't care. That was gross. "Is this why Steve sent us here?" I snatched up what treasures she had dropped, a Treasure Bag among them. Once I had secured those, I set about slapping the fragments of her exoskeleton off of me. "So gross!" She was worse dead than alive.

Forid laughed and pulled a piece out of my hair. Again with this? Not that I wasn't grateful, but this guy had it out for my hair. The idea that there were more pieces in my hair hit me and I hurriedly swatted at my hair. Forid put a hand on my shoulder and shook me once.

"Relax," he said. I made eye contact and took a deep breath.

"You're right, I'm sorry. Let's just go back. Whether this is what Steve wanted us to do, or not, I'm not going to feel alright until I've had a bath."

He nodded and we took out our mirrors.

* * *

After delivering the Mudfish to the not-so-patiently waiting Angler, we reported to Steve.

"Wow," the Guide said, "I didn't expect you guys to beat Queen Bee so easily."

"But, that was all?" I asked, "We don't have to go back and fight any more bugs?"

"No," Steve chuckled, "that was all."

"Great!"

I skipped out of the room and went downstairs to take a bath. The hot water soothed my muscles, which were taught from the stress of fighting and travelling. I almost thought I could become sleepy. But, the nightmares of the outside world after dark always shocked me into awareness whenever I dozed off.

Instead, I considered happy thoughts. There was the successful move, the defeat of Skeletron, the new tenants…

And Forid. He was a houseguest I never expected to have. I avoided thinking about him because, well, I never had any time to myself and thinking about him made me embarrassed.

Given recent events, I'd come to accept that there may be some truth in what people said about how he felt about me – that he liked me more than anyone else. But, we are both fighters, so we'd naturally become friends faster than, say, Forid and the Painter. However, even with our similarities, I hardly knew him.

I mean, I knew his favourite colour was blue, that he liked Sashimi, that he was brave to the point of foolhardy. I knew that he acted like a goofball when he was having fun and a warrior when he was in battle. I knew what he looked like without the mask. I knew his name. And, by now, I was pretty sure I knew his voice.

What I did know of him, I liked. I liked the way my name sounded when he said it. I liked that I could call him by his real name. I liked having him with me while I travelled. The villagers seemed pretty certain that I was in love with him. Sure, I used to copy his clothing and, yes, I did what was previously unthinkable and asked him to move in with us, but it was too soon to say that I was in love with him.

I felt my face turn hot, and not from the steamy bath – which, in fact, was no longer steamy – as I remembered when he touched my hair. Ah, there it was. The topic I had truly been avoiding. The fact that I was bothered by it, but didn't force his hand away suggested something to me: I, maybe, might have had a little… crush on the Slime King.

But, how juvenile! He entrusted his life to me and practically let me be his landlord. So, stupid, childish crush: goodbye. I would treat Forid the way I treated any other villager. No exceptions.

I mean, I couldn't really help it if he behaved differently. Like, if he had a crush on me, that was beyond my control. But, in all likelihood, he didn't. Keep in mind, I told myself, that, after he so strangely touched your hair, he also tugged on it like a brat. He was just teasing me… Right?

The water was quickly losing its warmth, so I got out and got dressed. I left the room and walked upstairs to the storage room with a newfound resolve. I would respond to Forid appropriately at all times.

And, speak of the devil, he was in the storage room.

"Forid?" I greeted. "What are you-"

That was when I noticed the gun in his hand. He aimed it at me as soon as I walked in the room.

"Don't," I warned him. "Please." I raised my hands in front of me as an act of surrender, but was disheartened by the look in his eyes. I was familiar enough with him, now, to know what those eyes were saying.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you to V1ralGam3r, who just recently made an account! Yay! Welcome! Thank you for the reviews! And thanks to Alphys, too. :) I like to think of you guys as my friends. :3

* * *

"Don't. Please…" Even as I spoke the words, I knew it was worthless. I knew him well enough, by now, to recognize the deviant behind those eyes. He didn't lower the gun. His eyes crinkled and he pulled the trigger.

I tried to dash away, but I didn't have nearly enough time to react. His hit landed on the back of my head. My body immediately reacted.

It was unpleasantly cold. And it spread from the top of my head all down my body.

I turned back to confront him.

"Have you lost your mind?!" I shouted, my cheeks flushed red with anger. By now, Slime was dripping off of me all over the floor. Satisfied, King Slime lowered his gun. "I just got out of the bath!"

With his impish laugh, he hopped over me, through the trapdoor to my room. Uh oh…

"Steve!" I called. Maybe he wasn't in my room?

I followed through the trapdoor and saw Forid running into the dining room. Grodax, Steve, and Timmy were in there, unarmed, defenseless.

"Forid, don't! That's not fair!" I reached out to grab him, but he was a few too many steps ahead of me. He shot all three while the males yelled in protest. Once hit, they looked as sopping wet as I did. Timmy screeched and ran from the room.

"Ugh," Steve shook out his hands, but the Slime stuck to him stubbornly, "I hope you got that out of your system, King Slime."

"Yeah, me too," I said, grabbing Forid's shoulder to force him to face me. "Why don't you put that back in your room?"

But he turned the Slime Gun on me and shot me again, this time in the face. I made a move to take the gun from him, but he ran away before I could snatch it.

"That is IT!" I shouted after his fleeing form. Sure, he had a Slime Gun. But, I had defeated him many times when we were enemies. I had many more Slime Guns that he didn't know about. I had enough to supply the people he had slimed with revenge.

"Grodax?" Sophia called from the room Forid entered. Grodax checked himself – saw how slimy he looked, and leaped under a table. I thought that was weird, but, before I could ask, I heard Sophia scream.

Crap. I was now one gun short, if I wanted to give one to every one of Forid's victims.

"Forid!" I bellowed, "You're going to get it!"

"What's gotten into him?" Steve asked. I shrugged and summoned my Water Trough. Inside, four Slime Guns waited for me. I loved having non-lethal weapons. It made me think that, some day, we could have a peaceful, friendly water fight.

I pulled out the Slime guns and showed them to Steve and Grodax, who grinned maliciously. Unfortunately for a certain king of Slimes, this water fight wasn't looking very friendly.

Hearing my threat, Forid came back into the room. His eyes became saucers when he saw that we were armed.

"Get him!" Steve and I shouted and we all fired at once. Forid fired at me – the _nerve!_ – but missed when a face full of Slime threw off his aim. He retreated a few steps and then hopped down the stairs.

"Leave the Demolitionist alone!" I commanded when I realized he was probably headed for the kitchen.

"Sophia! She's downstairs!" Grodax was the first to chase the king. Steve and I glanced at each other before following.

When we reached the kitchen, a confounded Jarut stood, already Slimed.

"Sorry!" I said to him, but King Slime wasn't there, and my team of three left the kitchen to find him.

"Stay back!" Sophia warned from the storage room. Forid kept his gun raised, anyway. I thought he might shoot her, again, but was surprised when he fell backwards, a snowball exploding against his head.

"You got him!" I laughed. I stepped over Forid, who was groaning on the floor. "That looked like it hurt." In moments, Grodax and Steve were at my side. We held our weapons to his head.

"Alright, you've had your fun," Steve said as if he were talking to a child, "Time to put the gun away."

Forid shut his eyes tightly, squirming. He pulled something out of his pocket and the three of us instinctively stepped back.

"It's his mirror," I said. Grodax cursed and shot at Forid, but the king disappeared before the Slime hit him.

"Maybe he is putting it away?" I suggested.

"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Steve warned.

"I say we go up there and make sure," Grodax said. He pumped his gun. "Maybe ensure a little deterrence, what do you think?"

Steve chuckled.

"I'm going to check on Timmy," I said and left through the back door.

The Angler was sulking in his room, slouching in front of his Mudfish. Well, at least he did keep them as pets, if I had to go through the trouble of getting them.

"Timmy?" I tried, kneeling next to him. He bent his eyes sideways to look at me.

"Your boyfriend sucks," he spat.

"Okay, first of all, he's not my boyfriend. Second of all, I thought, maybe, you'd want revenge?" I offered him my Slime Gun. He sat up. "Would that make you feel better?" I hardly got the words out when he was out the door.

Before re-entering the house, I pulled my last Slime Gun out of my Piggy Bank. The sounds of yelling and scuffling came from upstairs. Jarut was still in the kitchen.

"Mensa," he said, "you got one of those for me?"

"Sorry, this is my last one." I wasn't too sorry. I rushed upstairs.

In the dining room, Forid had started an all-out war. Apparently, on his way back down from his room, not only did he not return his Slime Gun to his chest, he also managed to upset Leonardo and Hiram, for the Painter and Dye Trader were now each set up with Paintball Guns. Sophia warned Scarlett of Forid's roguery and the two girls – plus Grodax – were set up on the other end of the room in a makeshift snow fort. Steve and Timmy had turned a table on its side for cover.

In the middle of the room stood Forid. He hopped from chair to table to platform, shooting others while avoiding being Slimed, himself.

"Ah – hey! That table's made of glass!" I warned Steve and Timmy. Steve shrugged at me, unconcerned, but Timmy completely betrayed me and sprayed me with the very Slime Gun I had given him. I let out something of a war cry that probably sounded distantly related to a banshee and shot back.

"Mensa!" Forid called. His Slime Hook hit the wall behind me and he soared over everyone to me. He took care to splatter the Angler and took my hand to pull me out of the room. It seemed only _he_ was allowed to shoot me with a Slime Gun. Anyone else was just a traitor.

I thought the others would chase us, now, since Forid had made himself public enemy number one, but I could hear Timmy yell "Hey! Watch who you're shooting!" and could only assume they were turning on each other, now.

What was going on? My villagers had gone crazy. I could hardly even blame Forid for this – they equally chose to retaliate instead of dry off and calm down. Were they bored? Restless?

Forid pulled me past the Tinkerer's workshop, far enough away from the chaos that we felt safe.

"You okay?" he asked. His eyebrows were scrunched together and I momentarily appreciated his genuine distress over my well-being.

"Yeah, thanks…" I shook my head. "Wait, you're the one who started all of this! What do you mean 'Am I okay?' This is all-"

Forid covered my mouth. I didn't appreciate that, but he looked like he was listening to something. All I could hear was the fighting from the other room. He pointed up, and we climbed the stairs leading out of the workshop.

In the next room, sitting on some steps facing away from us, Jamal and Jenna stared out the same window overlooking the ocean that Forid and I did when he first arrived. Jamal gently tilted Jenna's chin to face him. I realized with horror that they were about to kiss and we were spying on them!

Rather, I was. Forid had other plans.

Just as the couple's lips were about to touch, Forid aimed at them and fired. I saw a stream of Slime fly at them in vivid detail as if it were in slow motion, but was ultimately powerless to stop it.

Jenna gasped and jumped from her seat but, to her credit, didn't scream. She turned around to look at Forid and me, and then ran for the garden. Her outfit and her hair were ruined by Forid's attack.

Jamal watched her go, then slowly rose from his seat. His movements were deliberate and intimidating. When he faced us, his expression was livid.

"You're going to regret that," he told Forid, who didn't even have the sense to lower his weapon or pretend that it was an accident.

"Jamal…"

"And you. How could you side with _him_?"

How could I side with King Slime? It's true that he was the cause of this mess. But, until Jenna, it seemed like harmless fun. Heck, I never thought to have _fun_ in this house. I didn't like that he just interrupted Jamal and Jenna's date, but I appreciated that he gave the village something to do – and rescued me from that very activity.

I heard the garden door slam open a second time. Alalia sprinted into the room.

"Now you will learn what happens to people who mess with Jenna!" she roared. She threw something in Forid's direction, but I didn't get to see what. I grabbed his hand and dragged him back downstairs. For whatever reason, Forid decided to team up with me, and Jamal decided that I was his enemy because of that. So, the way I saw it, we were in this, together, whether I liked it or not.

"Whaa!" Forid exclaimed. He was facing backwards as I dragged him. He righted himself and we ran into the dining room, where the fight was still going on. I figured we could lose Alalia and Jamal if we were in the thick of battle. Their intensity was scaring me, to be honest.

"Alalia!" I heard Jamal call, "Keep him still!"

I shoved Forid into the room and reached for the handle to close the door. Whatever Alalia was throwing, it was headed straight for me. Forid spun me around so that he was hit, instead. When it hit, it sounded like breaking glass.

"Are you okay?" I asked, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him in the room. I reached behind him and shut the door. Finally. I checked the back of him, but couldn't tell what she hit him with. I leaned back to look at his face. I saw something in his eyes I had never seen before. Was he afraid?

"What's wrong?" I asked, trying to shake him out of his stupor. He stood very stiffly. What had Alalia thrown at him? "Forid?"

His eyes crinkled, and I was relieved to see him looking happy, again. But, there was colour added to his face. His face was heating up. Did she make him sick?

"Ooh!" Timmy taunted from the cover of his table, behind me, "King Slime is in love!"

"What!" I glared at the boy. What an immature deduction. But, what more could I expect from Timmy? Amused, Steve turned to look.

"Woah," the Guide said, "he is!"

"What? Are you nuts?"

Steve ducked by his table and pointed at King Slime. "See for yourself."

But, when I looked, the door behind Forid opened and Jamal was on the other side. He had recruited Wilbur, and they were both armed with Water Guns.

"Why don't you take a cold shower?" the Gun Dealer said. He sprayed Forid with water. Alalia appeared from behind the men and threw another item at Forid.

"Okay, Forid," I said, tugging on my friend, "Time to stop standing around, taking hits."

I set us up in the middle of the room, where I could tip over the two undisturbed tables for cover. I figured that, if they were going to break, they'd have done so, already. Forid and I crouched in our fort. I hated to think of two tables as a fort, considering I could construct far better if I only had the materials, but it would have to do.

"Mensa," Forid murmured without a trace of urgency. How could he be so relaxed? I ignored him to peer through the tables and try to come up with an escape plan. But, he refused to be ignored, and pushed my face to look at his. We were only centimeters apart.

That's when the smell hit me. Forid reeked badly. I recoiled.

"You smell like a-" I was about to say Stinkfish, but his eyebrows arched upwards to form a pained expression. Had I hurt his feelings?

Wait. He hadn't smelled this strongly five seconds ago. And now, he smelled distinctly like a Stinkfish? Alalia had been hitting Forid with potions. That last one must have been a Stink Potion. And the first one was likely a Love Potion, which would explain why Forid was standing around like a total moron instead of dodging incoming attacks or fighting back.

"Okay, don't worry. The potion will wear off within a minute," I assured him. He pouted. I tried not to breath in his general direction, for fear of retching at the smell. I hoped it wouldn't seep into my clothes.

I spied around the room. Everyone was still stationed where I had last seen them, except Alalia, Jamal, and Wilbur now joined the room.

A bullet hit the side of my head. Two more shots followed, but they flew above me.

"Ouch!" I touched the spot gingerly and checked my hand. It was a paintball. "Hey guys, those can actually do damage!" I warned Hiram and Leonardo, unsure of which one had hit me.

"She can take it!" Timmy yelled. Thanks a lot.

Seeing me hit, Forid jumped from his guarded position to take out the Painter and Dye Trader.

"Forid! Don't be an idiot!" I called after him. I rose, too, feeling water and Slime hit me from all directions. A well-aimed snowball smacked Forid in the face and I heard Scarlett let out a victorious howl. I grabbed a fistful of his clothes to try and pull him back into cover, but he was adamant.

A potion hit me in the back. Uh-oh. Was I going to stink or fall in love? I think I would have preferred the smell. As the potion took effect, an overwhelming feeling crept over me. It was exhilarating, but terrifying, and all too instantaneous. Suddenly, I couldn't imagine life without the man in front of me. My grip on Forid's clothes weakened when I became nervous to touch him.

He turned around and made eye contact with me. My heart soared. He was under the spell of a Love Potion, too, wasn't he? Maybe, if only for a moment, he would feel the same way about me as I did about him.

But he furrowed his brows and shook his head, and I realized that, for him, the effect had probably worn off.

Projectiles from all sides hit us, but none of that mattered. I couldn't hold back such strong sentiments. I would tell him exactly what I was feeling. My heart beat against my chest and I took his hand.

"Forid…"

Before I got another word out, my vision was blocked. The room filled with smoke.

"Is it a fire?" Steve asked. But it wasn't like smoke from a fire. No one was coughing or suffocating, and it started from the middle of the room, where Forid and I were, and spread to the rest of the room. I think I'd have noticed if a fire started right next to me, regardless of my impairing infatuation.

Everyone stopped firing and the room became quiet.

As the literal smoke cleared and we could see faint outlines of each other, Forid led me to the edge of the room to sit me down next to Steve. I watched as Forid knelt next to the Guide and pointed at me.

Jarut walked in, laughing, followed by a pink-haired girl I had never met, before. In his hands, he held a bomb that I assumed was responsible for the smoke.

"Wow, when you guys party, you party _hard_ ," the girl said.

"I'm sorry, I hadn't realized there we had any guests," Steve stepped forward to shake her hand. When he left my side, I looked at Forid, who caught my gaze and quickly looked away.

"My name's Steve. And, I see, you've met Jarut."

"Hey. My name's Bambi, but people call me party pooper."

"Party…?" Steve frowned.

"Yeah, I don't know. It sounds cool, though," the girl – Bambi – shrugged. She looked around the room. "Well, don't stop on my account!" She reached into her pocket and threw confetti in the air.

"If a Party Girl is here, that must mean that another villager has already arrived," Steve deduced. "Mensa?" He looked to me for input, but I wasn't paying attention. "What's gotten into her?"

Forid, still refusing to look at me, pointed to Alalia. What did he need Alalia for? She was over five hundred years old.

Wait, was I jealous? That wouldn't do.

"Oh no…" Steve lectured about Love Potions and the risk of messing with other people's heads, but I tried to ignore him.

These people trusted me to look after them. I couldn't feel jealous of them – I had a job to do. I was responsible for them.

"I don't care what Forid did. You don't have the right…"

Wait, Love Potions?

"Relax, boss, that was the last one. We don't know how to make more," was Jamal's snarky reply.

My heart stopped pounding so strongly. The potion was wearing off. Meanwhile, Jamal and Steve were in a spat.

"Okay, while you guys work that out, I'm going to fix this party," Bambi welcomed herself into the room.

"And what were you thinking hitting Mensa with one of those things? She needs to be alert at all times. It's getting dark out. What if something happened?"

"What would happen? She's already destroyed the Eye of Cuthulhu. There's nothing in this world we can't handle."

"Jamal, if you only knew."

I stood up and placed myself between the two men.

"I'm sorry, Mensa," Alalia said.

"It's okay," I replied.

"She wasn't aiming for you, anyway," Jamal muttered.

" _Jamal!_ " Steve hissed.

"It's _okay_ ," I insisted, "The effects have worn off. Nobody got hurt, right? Forid?" I checked on him.

His eyes widened when he realized I was asking him and he nodded.

"Good. There aren't any more, and we know not to do it again."

Alalia and Jamal nodded, though the Gun Dealer did so rather begrudgingly.

"You're okay?" Steve asked.

"Yeah. It was just a bit scary, that's all."

"Yeah?" Jamal snarled. "So's a first kiss."

"First kiss?" Steve's expression softened.

"Even to a lady-killer like you?" I asked. Jamal scoffed and stomped away. "Wait, Jamal!" I chased after him, and it seemed like everyone else thought it better to stay behind.

Jamal went up a flight of stairs.

"Wait, Jamal, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be…" What? Insensitive? I didn't want to imply that Jamal was being too _sensitive_. "Look, I'm just sorry, okay? King Slime didn't mean any harm. I'll take responsibility for this. I'll make it up to you."

Jamal stopped, at last and turned back to me. He looked skeptical.

"How do you plan to do that?" he smirked. "You gonna kiss me?"

I scowled.

"I'm kidding. That wouldn't fix things between me and Jenna, anyway."

"Tell you what," I said, crossing my arms, "I'll make a room where you two could have some privacy, next time. Somewhere Forid or someone couldn't interrupt. How's that?"

His smirk widened, and I wondered what I said wrong.

"Forid?" he asked. "I don't think I've heard that name, before."

"What, did you really think his name was King Slime?" I said, ignoring the fact that I, in fact, did think so not so long ago.

"You've become pretty cozy with the guy, haven't you?" the Gun Dealer raised a teasing finger at me.

"I thought we were talking about you and Jenna?"

"This private room is sounding a little self-serving."

"I hate you."

"Because I'm right?"

"I'm starting to think that you can just deal with your problems on your own. In fact, maybe I should've been the one to pull the trigger."

"Okay, okay, don't get mad at me," Jamal chuckled. "I would appreciate it if you built a place where we wouldn't be interrupted."

I sighed. "That's better."

When I went back downstairs, Steve and I searched the house for another villager, since Steve said that Bambi would have only shown up once thirteen of us moved in.

We found a Witch Doctor named Kogi-ghi hanging around our storage room.

"I thought I'd wait until you guys settled down," he said.

Since he worked with imbuing, I decided to set him up in the pumpkin room, where I set up the pool to make bottled water.

"This Alchemy Station is nice," Kogi-ghi commented, "but a sink would suffice. I have my own Imbuing Station."

"A sink?" I didn't know you could make bottled water from a sink. I had a few of those sitting around the house! And, here I was, running to the pumpkin room every time I needed to make a potion! I looked accusingly at Steve.

"What?" he shrugged. "You never asked – I assumed you knew."

We went back down and found Leonardo, Hiram, and Jarut bringing drinks up from the kitchen.

"Hey, you coming?" Jarut asked.

"Bambi's starting up a party," Hiram explained.

"Yeah, we cleaned up the dining room," Leonardo added. The three left to join the excitedly chatting people.

"A party?" I asked. How out of style was I to never think of hosting parties, water fights, or even having a room to host a nice, quiet dinner?

"Could be fun," Steve smiled at me.

"I can't. I think I've had enough fun. I've gotta build a new room for Jamal and make sure Bambi settles in…"

"Just once, I think it can wait," Steve interrupted. What? But, Steve was the one who first suggested that I focus on what was important for the world. "It's dark out, anyway. It's harder to build when you can't see."

"You sure it's okay?"

"Just for tonight."

It wasn't like Steve to put off important tasks. It must have equally been important to him that we spend time with the other villagers. Perhaps he thought I needed a break? Perhaps he wanted to talk to me about something? Or talk to someone else? Whatever it was, I didn't think it would last long.

"Well, okay."

We entered the dining room. It was cleaner, now. I was happy to see Forid getting along with everyone else. No one seemed to be holding any grudges. Even Jenna was back grabbing a drink with everyone else. They were gathered around Wilbur, who was telling a story about how he once swindled a guy from overseas into buying dirt from him at a high price.

This must have been the first time everyone was all in one room. I counted heads.

"Wait, Steve?"

"Yeah?"

"You said that Bambi would move in when there were thirteen people here, _already_ , right?"

"Yes."

"Not including me?"

"No, not including you… or Forid. You two are different."

"There are only thirteen villagers, here, then."

He counted, too. We figured out that Rupert was missing. We found him downstairs, in his room. Living a little farther than everyone else, he had been oblivious to the whole water fight. We invited him upstairs. Everyone roared in greeting when we returned.

"This room is great," Bambi exclaimed. "They say you built it, Mensa?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, beaming.

"We could add some Blinkroot for party lights!"

"Blinkroot?" Sophia joined the conversation, "I'll just set the lights up to blink – you don't need Blinkroot."

"That sounds like a great idea, Sophia," I noticed Grodax hovering around Sophia. When he complimented her, she suddenly lost her air of confidence.

"O-oh! You think so?" she looked nervous – and so did Grodax – but they both seemed happy.

As the night progressed, I realized that everyone had a group of friends they defaulted to. Steve and Wilbur had known each other the longest out of everyone else, and chatted amicably. Forid, despite what he had done, must have been forgiven by Jamal, because the Gun Dealer was excitedly talking to the king about a theoretical gun that would use Slime as ammunition. Jarut was trying to get Timmy to pay attention to the basics of chemistry. Grodax and Sophia were lost in their own world.

Even the newcomers found a way to fit in. Apparently, Bambi left a very good impression on Scarlett and was trying to convince her to move downstairs, where some empty rooms were available. Rupert, Leonardo, and Hiram were discussing fabrics and colour. Koghi-ghi, Jenna, and Alalia were engaged in a conversation about potions and flasks.

Out of everyone in the room, I was the odd one out. I spent so much time away from home, that I was barely a part of the community. Did I even know how to socialize, properly?

I didn't mind. If it meant keeping the community safe, I didn't mind not quite fitting in.

Besides, Skeletron was defeated. I didn't know of any other bosses to fight. I'd have to check with Steve, but it seemed like we were free. All I had left to do was rid the world of the Corruption. Purple grass didn't scare me. Eater of Souls were no match for me. And I was willing to bet that Forid would be happy to help me.

From here on out, life was going to get easier.


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks to V1ralGam3r (congrats on getting to Hard Mode!) and all my readers for your continued support! :D And thanks for the messages of interesting ideas, Alphys! If I use them, I'll let you guys know.

Finally, I've beaten all the Mechanical Bosses! I'm scared of Plantera. :S

And, apparently, my boyfriend is reading this fic, now. If you made it this far: Hello! This is foxy!

One last thing: this was an especially difficult chapter to write. If you have a moment, let me know what you think?

* * *

Somewhere around 1:30 a.m., the party died down. Forid and I didn't sleep and Steve thought he might stay up with us. The three of us settled on a couch with me in the middle. I don't know what made Steve want to stay up, too, but his resolve died as soon as he sat down on the cushions. He rested his elbow on the armrest and his chin in his palm and then he was out. It didn't look comfortable, but I didn't want to wake him to move him.

I pointed Steve out to Forid, who grinned and pulled out a Slime Gun.

"Don't you dare!" I hissed. He pouted, but obeyed. "Thank you."

We sat in silence, since I wasn't sure what to talk about and it wasn't in his nature to start conversations. I was more accustomed to his voice, but he still hadn't said more than one or two words at a time to me. I wondered if I asked him a question that required more than one word for an answer if he would reply? Would he find some creative way to respond without words? What would I even ask?

The cry of a Zombie sounded from in front of me and I felt my head jerk downwards. I looked around, finding no Zombie, and realized I was falling asleep. Sure, I could get tired, but I pretty much never slept.

I nodded off, again. This time, my imagination created a fully formed Zombie right in front of my face. I woke when my forehead hit Forid's shoulder.

"Sorry," I said.

"Hm," he shook his head, dismissing the thought.

"Are you tired?"

He shook his head.

"I am, but I can't sleep."

He waited before responding.

"Nightmares." It wasn't a question. He was pointing out that I had nightmares.

"How did you know?"

"Skeletron."

Skeletron? As in, Skeletron told him? I played the guessing game in my head until I remembered that he was by my side, after the fight with Skeletron, until I woke up. I probably had a nightmare, then, and that's when he found out.

My eyes grew heavier. The strangled wheeze of the undead sounded so real, but I woke when I felt my cheek against his shoulder.

"Sorry, again," I said as I raised my head off his shoulder.

He let out a throaty chuckle. That was the quietest, most contained laugh I'd ever heard from him.

"I don't want to sleep," I told him. "I hate the nightmares. Always with the Zombies. I hate their missing limbs, or their extra limbs… Or when they are missing skin and I can see their flesh out in the open, like they couldn't be bothered to heal themselves. And why would they? They're doomed to be the living dead forever…"

I was rambling so that I would stay awake, but I realized that I sounded like a scared, little child, so I stopped. I chanced a glance at Forid and he looked back.

"I don't want to sleep," I told him.

He nodded, as if to tell me that he understood.

I could get up, I told myself. There were lots of tasks I could do. I could go around the building, making sure all the doors were shut. I could begin constructing Jamal's room. I could collect fallen stars, fish, mine, hunt Zombies, brew potions…

But, honestly, I was happy where I was. I enjoyed sitting between Forid and Steve. Steve was my closest friend. Forid was the brat whom I refused to acknowledge that I might be attracted to due to property ownership. And I never got to just sit with these people, despite how important they were to me.

But, maybe Forid had something he wanted to do? I could help. It would keep me awake, anyway.

"Is there something you'd rather be doing, right now?" I asked.

He thought about it and shook his head.

"Are you sure? Because, like, I'm not doing anything important, obviously."

"Nothing." He shook his head, again.

Wow. He'd rather sit and do nothing than do anything else? I blushed at the thought that maybe he'd rather sit with _me_ than do anything else. I checked on his facial expression, but he was decidedly looking away from me.

Okay, Mensa. Calm down. Stop your wishful thinking and stop crushing on your poor tenant. He's probably creeped out.

What could I think about, instead? I could change the subject. I could figure out a complex question to ask to see if he'd answer in a full sentence.

"Forid?" As soon as I spoke, he turned his head and looked at me.

"Hm?" It was as though I had pulled him away from his thoughts. Well, him being distracted by something else was better than him being creeped out by me. All I had to do, now, was continue to not freak him out.

"Why did you move in, here?" Normal question… right?

"You asked."

"Uh, right." Rats. Not only did he respond with only two words, but I also realized that it was probably a dumb question. "But… what made you decide to accept?"

He looked away. Oh, no. I probably did what I had set out not to do, and now he was thinking of ways that he could escape me or escape this conversation. I should probably remove myself from the situation for him. I should probably excuse myself so that he didn't have to.

"You seemed nice," he answered. I was shocked that he responded. I was so worried that I almost forgot what I had asked. He didn't turn his head to look at me as he spoke, like it was hard for him to give me this information. He spoke softly. "No one ever asked… No one ever wanted me, before."

This was a sad answer. Did he think that people didn't like him?

"No one ever wanted me, either," I said. That got him to look at me. "No one ever asked me if I would move in with them. I think everyone's just stuck with me."

He arched his eyebrows upwards and there was a somber look in his eyes. Was he feeling sorry for me? But, I was the one who was supposed to be feeling sorry for him. He leaned towards my ear, close enough that I could hear his breathing as it filtered through his fabric mask.

"You want to live with me?" he asked. I took me a moment to realize he was messing with me.

"Yes, I want to live with you," I bumped him playfully with my shoulder. "Thanks for asking. I think I'll take that room." I gestured with my head towards mine.

He gave another quiet chuckle and readjusted his position to be more comfortable. His arm was resting behind me, not touching, but I was quite sure it was behind me. Were it Jamal, I would have minded. Were it Steve, I wouldn't have noticed. But, it was Forid, so I not only noticed, but I focused on it obsessively.

"You sure there's nothing else you'd rather be doing?" I asked.

"Yes."

* * *

Steve didn't wake up until late in the morning. He found Jenna, Jamal, Forid and I outside in the new building that hovered on an artificial cloud.

I built it to look like an oriental house. I was supposed to be thinking romantic, but I guess I associated romance with Asian décor and the colour red. By no means was I a romantic person, so I hoped that red paint, seclusion, and Peace Candles were enough to constitute as a good room to bring a date.

"This is perfect!" Jenna sat down at the table in the center of the room.

I was still awaiting Jamal's judgement. He was the one who wanted the room. He stepped out the back door to where I had placed an artificial tree that matched the one at the front of the castle.

"You really got a thing for pink trees, don't you?" Jamal asked when he returned. I frowned. "What? Where do you even find pink leaves, anyway?"

"I paint them," I told him, "But that's not the point! What do you think of the room?"

"Oh," Jamal looked around, as if he hadn't been passing judgement on it all along, "It works, I guess."

"It works?" Jenna repeated. "That's it? _I_ love it!"

Jamal glanced at her and then smiled at me. "Well, that's what's important, isn't it?"

"It's very nice, Mensa," Steve encouraged me, rather like a mother, "which is good, because I think you should be exploring the Underworld, again."

"Okay," I said. I didn't really want to go back, there, but if Steve said I should, I would. "To upgrade Forid's armour, right?"

Jenna and Jamal exchanged glances.

"Yes," Steve said slowly, "You can do that. But, you also need to challenge the keeper of the Underworld."

"The keeper? Wait, is that another boss?"

Steve nodded. I dreaded going to the Underworld, before, but now I also had to fight a boss, down there. Forid must have noticed my dismay, because he patted my shoulder reassuringly before punching an open palm.

We left Jamal and Jenna to prepare for the fight. Forid had to stop by his room, and I was rummaging around in the storage room, returning materials to their proper place after construction.

"Mensa," Steve said. I didn't realize he had followed me. "Things are going to get harder after you beat this boss."

"Harder? How?"

"Corruption will spread faster. New monsters will appear in every biome. There will be new bosses and new invaders."

"Wait, Corruption will spread faster? Why would I want this?" I shut the chest I was digging through and crossed my arms. "And more, tougher enemies? I thought things were going to settle down, not get worse."

"Let me finish, Mensa – there's a bright side," Steve smiled patiently at me. "There will be more treasures to be found. A whole new biome will have the opportunity to grow. New ores will appear, underground. You'll gain abilities you never even imagined possible. You'll get your hands on a Broken Hero Sword – maybe a few that you can share.

"You won't be earthbound, anymore, Mensa. Someday, you will fly. The world won't seem so vast. And, I think this one will appeal to you the most: you will meet so many new people. There will be a new Guide. I predict you will know over twice as many names as you do, now."

"So," I said, "there are more people that need to be freed?"

Steve gave me a look that he normally gave when I forgot an ingredient to a potion, but nodded.

"And, in order to free them, I need to beat this keeper of the Underworld and allow the world to become just a little more Corrupt?"

"Yes. And, when the world challenges you the most, I want you to stay strong and find happiness inside you. Forid can fight, so keep him close. Have more faith in your villagers and try not to shoulder so much responsibility onto yourself."

"Would you relax?" I said, exchanging my Ruler for the Shield of Cthulhu. "You can always give me a pep talk when it's relevant. Stop talking like you're going somewhere. You promised to stay with me, remember?"

"Until I die."

"Yeah. I'll always need my Guide."

"And you will always have a Guide."

* * *

I went over Forid's equipment and weapons many times before we left. I was able to put together two Lava Waders with the equipment Forid and I had mined over time – thank goodness I was such a hoarder.

Together, we dug straight down, like we had done in the Jungle to find Queen Bee. I already had a mine started, but I hadn't dug to the Underworld since moving to the beach.

Marble Caves were scary, and we passed two of them on our way down, but I was quick to separate us from the threat of a Medusa or Hoplite by walling us in with dirt.

Checking the map and our depth, I was pretty sure we were getting close when we came across a Spider Cave.

"I found Scarlett in a place like this!" I exclaimed excitedly as I walled up the cave. Forid killed any oncoming spiders.

"Scared?" he asked.

"Nah, she's pretty brave."

"No, you."

"Me?" I looked at Forid. He wore a teasing grin and pointed at a spider that was trying to get in to our tunnel. "I'm not afraid of spiders."

He killed the spider and I closed up the wall.

"Bees," he said.

"That was a spider," I corrected.

"You're afraid of bees."

"Spiders aren't bees. I like spiders. They don't try to sting me from across the room. They make beautiful silk. Steve says I could have a spider as a minion, some day." And I would replace my imp with a spider in a heartbeat.

"Are you afraid of spiders?" I asked.

"Not afraid. Don't like them, though."

I smiled and we kept digging. He certainly was more talkative, now.

* * *

"Okay, when break this, we're going to start falling. So, keep your hook handy and be ready to activate your Frostspark Boots, if need be."

Forid just stared at me.

"Don't go under the lava unless you have to. I know we get seven seconds immunity, thanks to our Lava Waders, but I'd rather save that for an emergency. You should never intentionally go under the lava if there is any other option."

Still, he just stared.

"And there are Hellbats, Slimes, Bone Snakes, Fire Imps, and Demons, down there, so be on the lookout for them. Okay… Any questions?"

"No, Steve," he cracked.

"You wish I was as good as Steve." That earned me a strange look, so I decided it was time for me to stop lecturing and get a move on.

We fell through and landed on a hill of ash. I marked where we landed with a single Pink Slime block.

For all my nagging and worrying, we fared very well in the Underworld. With our overpowering Blue Moon and Waterbolt combination, even the Demons with their Scythes failed to scare me.

"Where's the keeper?" Forid asked.

"Oh, I don't know. The instructions Steve gives can be pretty cryptic, sometimes. I think we should be mining Hellstone and making you armour. Steve assured me that everything we need to fight the keeper will be here. We'll know when it's awoken."

He nodded.

We mined any Hellstone we found that wasn't submerged in lava. I reminded him that there was plenty of Hellstone that was _not_ under a deadly, molten liquid. Oddly, there weren't any Obsidian buildings, where we were. I was actually counting on them being there – I brought an anvil with me, but not a Hellforge. I thought we'd find one along the way. If we didn't, then we'd have to go back home to make Forid's armour.

I was relieved when, in the distance, I could see a mass of Obsidian bricks. There was bound to be a Hellforge, in there. Forid pointed at it and I nodded.

"Just in time," I remarked as two Demons approached us. One of them was holding one of those dolls. "We have to kill those Demons on the roof."

Forid didn't ask why. He just kept moving to our target building, dodging Scythes along the way. I let loose a few bolts of water to lower the Demons' health and slow them down. They would be an easy match.

We reached the building and used our boots to propel ourselves to the top.

When we faced the Demons, again, I was horrified to see that they had been under attack this whole time. The bolts I sent ricocheted off the ceiling and hanging ash structures.

"Okay, I messed up," I warned Forid, "Wait for the Demons to get close before attacking."

I had forgotten about my imp. The one time I needed the imp to leave my enemies alone, after all this time of the worst aim I had ever seen, my miniature imp finally landed a perfect hit – and it was on the Demon carrying the voodoo doll.

The doll was going to land in the lava and I was too far away to catch it. But, I didn't panic. It was eerie, and I preferred the doll be intact, but I didn't know what would happen if the doll was destroyed. Now was my time to learn.

There was barely a splash.

Terror struck me as the Guide fell in the lava. A tortured wail echoed through the Underworld, followed by the sounds of lasers and the creeping sound of a creature with a dripping exoskeleton. In the direction I faced, out of the dim, distant light, I saw not a single adversary, but a wall constructed of muscle, veins, eyes, and one mouth.

I realized two things. One was that I was not ready. The second and the most horrifying: something very bad was happening to Steve, right now.

Forid must have felt a similar dread and helplessness as I did, because he couldn't seem to even turn around to see what I was seeing. It was as though he was frightened enough by the look in my eyes to be convinced that he didn't want to see what I was seeing.

In fact, I didn't want him to see what I was seeing. Tiny pieces of the wall tore themselves away from the greater mass to fight as tiny mouths. The Hungry persisted even if they were still attached to the wall by veins. The edges of the wall moved to stick to ash and tore itself away like a band aid to move forward.

Forid's shoulders rose sharply, and he took a deep breath. Before he could move his head an inch to face the monster behind him, I grabbed his face in my hands.

"Forid, I need you to look into your mirror and check on Steve. I sense that he's in danger, and I need you to protect him."

I held on to his face and looked into his eyes. The monster wall drew nearer. Forid didn't look like he wanted to stay in the Underworld, but he also didn't want to abandon me.

"I'll be right behind you," I lied. There was no way I could return home the same person after seeing what I was seeing. I took out my mirror and unwrapped it.

"Please," I said, "Protect Steve." I held the mirror up. He didn't look into it, immediately, choosing instead to make eye contact with me. I hoped he would just listen to me. I was starting to grasp that I would lose this fight, but I didn't want to see Forid lose. I hoped he would return home, unharmed, so that I could at least remember him like this: strong, healthy, and in one piece.

His eyes flickered down and he was gone with a flash of light.

Now, it was just me and the Wall of Flesh.

I pulled out my Star Cannon and ran backwards as I fired. The lasers burned through my armour. Leeches were the first to catch up to me to bite me. The pain, shock, and fear hit me so profoundly, the idea to drink a potion didn't occur to me. I doubt if I had a potion in my hand, I would do anything more than throw it at the wall, anyway. I would do anything to repel it. But, I knew I had nothing that could stop it.

The Hungry caught up with me as I stumbled over some Ash dunes. One bit my arm with so much force I thought I would lose it. A few cannon shots killed the Hungry and my arm was released, but it was agonizing to try and move it.

I was down one arm. I couldn't use my hook. Climbing became harder. But, I familiarized myself with the wall's attack patterns. It wasn't long before I figured out where not to stand for fear of being shot or bitten.

One particularly tall building had me trapped. I jumped and flailed trying to find a door into the building.

The wall caught up. Its flesh devoured me. It seeped through my armour and burned my skin. I thought I was dead when a hungry grabbed me and spat me back out.

There were more buildings to come and, with one of my arms worthless, I couldn't climb it. The wall absorbed me once me. I couldn't take it, anymore. This time, I blacked out.

* * *

I didn't expect to wake up, ever again. But, at some point, I realized that I could open my eyes.

When I did, I hated the red glow that my blurry vision interpreted.

I was still in Hell.

I could hear the slimy sound of the Wall as it moved away from me. It left me behind. Or, maybe I really was dead, but damned to spend my afterlife in the Underworld. I longed to move. I wanted to find Steve and my friends and be assured that I was neither dead nor trapped, down here.

But I couldn't move. I remained lying on my stomach, my face resting against ash that was coarse and burned my skin. It was like suffocating in bathwater that was way too hot.

I don't know how long I was stuck there, too tortured to move. Bats flew in the ceilings above me. Slimes moved through the lava beneath me. They couldn't even be bothered to kill me. It's like they knew I was defeated. After what felt like a lifetime, I started counting, if only to prove to myself that time still existed and was still passing.

I had lost count and started over many times before Forid showed up. I wanted to feel joy at seeing him, again, but all I felt was the fear that the wall would do to him what it had done to me. I must have relaxed when he picked me up. The closeness of a human, not a monster, put me to back to sleep.

* * *

"Steve!"

I stood up before anyone could stop me. I wasn't entirely healed, but I had to find Steve.

"Jamal, stop her," I dodged Jenna as she tried to grab me and headed out the infirmary door. Then, it was down the trapdoor to my room.

"Steve?" I called. He wasn't there.

Down another trapdoor and out the front gate.

"Steve!"

Night was coming. He'd need to come home, soon.

Someone grabbed my hand. I panicked and tried to jump away, but was shocked at how weak I was. Jamal kept a firm grip.

"You need more sleep," he told me.

"Where's Steve?" I asked.

"Come back to the medical room."

I tried to fight Jamal, but Jarut came to his assistance, and I couldn't shake the two of them. This wasn't right. Normally, I would have no trouble avoiding them. Someone had removed my gear. I was defenseless.

I followed them through the house, keeping my neck craned for any signs of the Guide. He wasn't in my room, the storage room, the crafting room, the kitchen, the dining room, the Tinkerer's workshop, the sewing room, or the garden. These were the only rooms I could see before Jamal and Jarut forced me back into Jenna's care.

She insisted I lie down. She pulled the blanket over me and I kicked it off.

"Can't I see Steve?"

Jamal, Jenna, and Jarut didn't say anything, but I knew what they knew.

Steve was dead.

"How did he die?" I have no idea in what manner I spoke to them. I was too far gone to observe myself. "How could he die when I sent Forid to protect him? Did you see him die? Who saw him die?"

"Mensa, please," Jenna whimpered. I don't know if I was crying, but I remember seeing tears on her cheeks.

"He lied. He lied to me. He knew he wouldn't live, but he let me believe that he would."

"What, you think he knew he was going to die?" Jamal snapped. He put himself between Jenna and me, like he thought I was going to hurt her.

"He knew. He tried to tell me, didn't he? But I was too stupid to figure it out. And now he's dead – and for what? That monster is still alive. I failed."

I covered my eyes with the palms of my hands, ignoring how the movement hurt my right arm. I took a hideous gasp of air and let it out in an abandoned wail.

"This is really bad," Jamal said over my blubbering. "Steve's dead, and our two fighters are out of commission."

What?

I removed my hands and looked at the bed closest to me. I hadn't noticed it, before, but it was occupied.

Forid lied there, looking like he was barely being held together by gauze. He was safe when he left the Underworld. When he returned to retrieve me… that's how he ended up like this.

I screamed.

I did this. Steve was dead and Forid was about to join him because of my incompetency. This was my fault. At this rate, I would lose everyone.

I scrambled to get to Forid, but there was a weight on my stomach and I was forced back down on to the bed.

"This is not your fault."

Jarut, apparently tired of watching the three of them fight to keep me down, just up and sat on me. Once it seemed like I wasn't going anywhere, Jenna sat beside my shoulder and put a soothing hand on my forehead.

"Never say this is your fault," she told me.

I didn't know what I was saying aloud and what was in my head. All I could see was Forid lying in the bed while I cried and struggled, and he wasn't moving. He was perfectly still.

* * *

I spent many hours inconsolable. Jenna, Jarut, and Jamal didn't leave. Jarut eventually got to the point where he trusted me not to run off and stopped sitting on me. Despite not leaving, I still didn't sleep. Some minutes, I would spend staring blankly, ignoring everyone around me. The rest, I spent weeping and lamenting. Jarut described it as self-loathing. Jenna described it as delusional. Jamal described it as very bad.

Alalia joined us. No matter how many times she or Jenna told me Forid would pull through, I didn't feel any less guilt for the state he was in.

"You should sleep," Jenna said, rubbing her eyes. "You'd be a lot more reasonable if you slept a healthy amount."

"Am I so unreasonable?"

"You're crazy on the best of days," Jamal stated. "Your lack of sleep makes you ramble and snowball. You panic easily, you're paranoid, and you make mountains out of molehills."

"We just want you to feel better, that's all," Jenna said.

I stared at Forid's sleeping form. I was calmer, now, and could see the rise and fall of his chest.

"Maybe you'd like to sleep in your own room and let us worry about Forid?" Jenna suggested.

I shook my head. The last thing I wanted was to be alone, and the last place I wanted to be was in my room. Steve and I used to browse through books and brainstorm crafting ideas in that room all the time. If I was in my room, it would feel like he could walk in at any moment and remind me of some important task I should have been completing. But, even though the world felt incomplete without him, even though it seemed like the world couldn't exist without him, Steve, in fact, would never walk in my room ever again.

For the first time since the first night, I didn't want to move. It's not that I wanted to stay in bed. It was that I didn't want to do anything at all. There was nothing in the world that would move me.

As day began and the room got brighter, Forid stirred. Jenna was standing at the door, talking in hushed tones to Scarlett and Bambi. He looked around and didn't settle down until he saw me. Even then, his eyes didn't crinkle the way I was accustomed to. His eyebrows furrowed and he looked very disturbed at the sight of me.

"Forid," I whispered. I tried to raise my voice, but settled on whispering when I was sure that talking would cause me to resume crying. "I'm so sorry. The reason you're like this is because I failed."

He took his time sitting up, shaking his head at me the whole time.

"And we lost Steve for nothing," my breath hitched and I clamped my mouth shut. If I was as crazy as the others seemed to think I was, it was probably for the best that I said little more. "I'm so sorry."

He stood and teetered over to my bed. By now, Jenna noticed he was awake and moved in to stop him, but thought better of it when he sat next to me on the bed.

"She needs rest," she warned Forid, "And you do, too."

He lied down. We turned on our sides to face each other. Our foreheads touched. He rested a hand on my side. I didn't know what the plan was, what his intentions were, but I appreciated that he was close. I think, after what we experienced, we just wanted to prove that at least we were alive and we had each other.

With Forid, there, I finally fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

I had two tasks, today.

I woke up to see Forid's eyes staring at mine. He had awoken before me, but didn't leave me. A check up from Jenna later, we were ready to get back up.

I had a headache and felt sick, but I had two things I wanted to do, today. My first task was to use our newly acquired Hellstone to upgrade Forid's equipment. He, now, had the best mining equipment and armour and an Imp Staff.

The next task was…

I heard the front gate open. Forid and I were in the next room over, down some steps. We didn't look up until we heard his voice.

"Hello?"

Forid and I looked equally shocked. That was Steve's voice. My second task was cancelled.

We started running up the steps at the sound of the gate closing. Just as my ears had suggested, Steve was there, looking as healthy as ever and quite confused.

"Steve!" I tackled him into a hug. "We thought you were dead!"

"Uh," he stammered. Okay, he was a little confused, and I wasn't normally the type to initiate hugs, but it was okay. Everything would be okay, now.

"But, I knew nothing could happen to you while you were safely at home, far away from any monsters," I chirped.

"Hey, wait!" the Guide startled and pulled away from me. I was pulled farther away by Forid's hand on my shoulder. Forid was threatening Steve with his Night's Edge.

"Forid!"

"That's not Steve."

I checked the Guide.

"No," he said, carefully eying Forid's sword, "I'm not Steve."

I let Forid pull me back, further. So, I still had one task, left, today.

"My name is Joe. I am here to give you advice on what to do next."

I clenched my fists. My heartrate increased. Forid and I stood, frozen, unsure of what to make of this man who looked just like our deceased friend.

"Your previous Guide – Steve? You lost him. I'm very sorry. But, I'm here, now."

"You want to replace him?" I spat. Forid shoved his sword forward menacingly and Joe gasped.

"Replace? I… Your previous Guide…"

"Steve," I reminded him, "He was our friend."

"Friend?"

"And you mean to replace him?"

"I- I can't… He was a… close friend?"

"Why is that so hard for you to grasp?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I guess because I've always been one in thirty-five." Joe sighed. "Look, if Steve was your friend, then I understand that I'll never replace him. But, you lack a Guide. I'm here to assist you. Whether or not that means becoming _friends_ … that is up to you."

"Why do you look just like him?" I asked.

"I can't help the way I look. This is what we look like."

Forid and I exchanged glances and he lowered his weapon.

"Steve… He… never told you I was coming?" Joe asked, taking a tentative step forward.

I scoffed.

"Of course, he never…" I trailed off. I broke out into a cold sweat. My sickness got worse. I ran downstairs to the bathroom and vomited in the toilet.

v.v.v.[break]

 _I'm thinking that you won't be needing me much longer. I will probably be moving on. I promise, I'll stay with you as long as I live. Until I die. Just thought it'd be easier to get it over with._

 _There will be other Guides to help you with things, Mensa. There will be a new Guide. You will always have a Guide._

Nobody disturbed me while I was in the bathroom, so I stayed in there, alone, letting Steve's words repeat in my head. Such twisted, truthful words. How long had he been dreading his demise? Did he expect to be replaced so easily?

I didn't want a new Guide. Fuck the Guide. I wanted my friend.

I couldn't stay in the bathroom, forever. I had one task left.

Forid was waiting for me when I exited. He leaned against the wall under the stairs, idly watching his imp circle around the room.

"Forid."

He faced me and gave me another disturbed look, like the one he made when he woke up in the medical room. I probably looked sick. I probably looked at him with the same expression when I first saw him wrapped up and passed out.

"There's something I want to build. I've never seen you build anything, before, but would you want to help me?"

He nodded.

Construction took place beneath the bathroom and storage room, beside the basement bedrooms. Forid didn't want to impose on my vision for the room, even though I assured him that I was no artist, so he ran materials back in forth at my request.

I built two things: a chapel and a gated garden. There was no body, but I made a tombstone, anyway and set it down in the garden.

Once people realized what I was making, they filed in throughout the day. By night, everyone was there.

"I didn't take you for the religious type," Wilbur said, crossing his arms while looking around the chapel.

"I'm not," I said, jumping down from the ceiling, where I was placing Angel Statues, to join everyone. "It just felt right to have a peaceful place. There's no cross, or any tribute to the Gods, or anything."

"What Gods?" Jamal asked sarcastically.

"Oh, there are Gods, all right," Wilbur declared, "but they're angry, evil Gods."

"Those aren't Gods," Alalia argued.

"Let's not start a debate," I interrupted. "This place is meant to be safe and peaceful. It's not just to mourn those who've passed, either. It can be a place for celebrating." I indicated a small dressing room that contained a Mannequin and Womannequin dressed in wedding clothes. "A place for acknowledging major events."

By now, I had everyone's attention, which made me pretty nervous. I realized that, once more, everyone was gathered in one room. I never thought the next time we gathered together would be at a funeral. What was I supposed to say? What did they expect me to say?

"Um, Mensa?"

A voice from the door above me called. It was Joe.

"I understand if you guys want to be alone, but, I wanted to ask if I may join you?" God, he even talked like Steve. "I mean no disrespect." Joe added when I didn't answer right away.

"Of course, you can come in. This place is for everyone."

Joe thanked me and walked in.

"I suppose you'd like to say a few words?" Jamal asked expectantly, looking at Joe with narrowed eyes. I didn't know where he got the idea that Joe would have anything to say.

"You don't have to," I told Joe, but he didn't look as surprised as I did at Jamal's request.

"It's fine." He stood in front of the chapel's altar, which wasn't an altar at all, but a Boreal Wood Dresser with a lamp on each side. I didn't mind that everyone's eyes were off of me. Joe took a deep breath, like Steve would do before giving me a long explanation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Mensa, and… King Slime, apparently… I haven't introduced myself to all of you, but I know of all of you. My name is Joe and, as Mensa had mentioned to me earlier, today, while I cannot replace your friend, Steve, I am here to take over his job as a Guide.

"I never met Steve. But, I've learned a thing or two about him since my arrival. For one, he was very close friends with Mensa and Forid. I'm sure he considered everyone in this room to be his friends, too." He looked pointedly at Wilbur, who nodded.

"It sounds, to me, like he helped a lot, around here. Though, nobody's perfect, and I'm sure he got into disagreements." Now, Joe looked to Jamal, who smirked half-heartedly. How much did this guy learn about Steve, anyway? "And I'm willing to bet he left the door open a few too many times.

"But, his successes are written all over this place. Under his guidance, Mensa has built not one, but two beautiful homes for us villagers to live in, safely. His wisdom has kept all of us alive, and I'm confident that it will continue to do so even now that he is gone. I'm sure Steve knew how lucky he was to have you as his friends. Your community is his legacy.

"I will never fill the hole that he has left behind, but I hope to contribute to your community as best I can. Please talk to me if you require any assistance."

There were murmurs of approval and Joe bowed and stepped down from the dresser altar.

"When you have a moment, Mensa," he spoke to me, and when he said my name, I could almost believe that he was Steve, "I would like to speak with you in the other room." With that, the Guide stepped into the crafting room from whence he came.

I mingled with the people to see how they were coping. No doubt they were upset, possibly scared.

"I can't believe he called this place safe when his predecessor died, here," Bambi said. I didn't like what I heard, but I had to accept it. Steve had died, here, after all, despite every precaution I took.

"That was no ordinary death," Alalia countered.

"I don't know what the big deal is," Jamal growled, "She's got a new Guide, doesn't she?"

 _That_ didn't sit well with me, though. I marched over to that conversation.

"Jamal! Have some respect," Jenna scolded him, "Besides, Joe's not friends with Mensa the way Steve was."

"Yeah!" I added and the two jumped when they saw me. "What the he…" I reminded myself that I was in a chapel. "What the heck, Jamal. I know you weren't very fond of him, but jeez."

Jamal glared at me, muttered a "whatever," and then stomped away. I watched him go, in awe of his apathy.

"I'm sorry Mensa – just ignore him," Jenna said, and she chased after him.

Maybe he was just coping differently? I was no expert on psychology by any definition.

The sound of Zombies could be heard and I shut the garden door. I knew they couldn't get into the garden, but the sounds were disturbing. By now, it was late enough that people were filing out of the room to return to their own. Leonardo, Jarut, Alalia, and Scarlett gave their condolences as they left. I hugged Wilbur and Grodax and bid them goodnight.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and knew it was Forid.

"I'm so glad you're here," I told him.

"Me, too."

v.v.v.[break]

We found Joe in the crafting room. He approached us.

"I hate to ask this, but I need to know," he said with a frown, "How did Steve die?"

"He died when his voodoo doll," I reconsidered my words, "when a Guide Voodoo Doll fell in lava."

Joe nodded in comprehension.

"And… this was in the Underworld?"

"Yes."

"And did you defeat the keeper?"

I felt myself losing my composure. The edges of my mouth twitched involuntarily. Forid shifted. I shook my head.

"I see," Joe's frown deepened, but he sighed and recovered. "Well, your armour seems top notch. Yours does, too, King Slime. Are you fighting with her? Yes? Well, I got a good look at your Night's Edge, earlier today, so we will have to look into ranged weapons and arena options. I see your Frostspark Boots, so I might suggest building a bridge of ice."

"Wait, you think we're going to do that, again?" I asked.

"Well, yes. But, only when you're ready, of course. Alalia reported to me that this world is only 6% Corrupt – good work, by the way – so, there's no rush. However, with the right buffs and a sturdy platform, I'm sure you'll have no trouble-"

"I'm never summoning that thing ever again!" I nearly shouted. "Do you know what it takes? A Guide Voodoo Doll has to be destroyed for the wall to awaken."

"Another voodoo doll can be obtained in the Underworld," Joe pointed out.

"That's not the problem!"

"Then, what is?"

"You'll die if I fight that thing!" I exclaimed. I felt my voice weaken, but I continued. "I can't do that."

Joe smiled sadly. It was undeniably the exact same melancholic smile that Steve used to give. I wasn't oblivious to it, anymore.

"That's very considerate of you, Mensa. But, I'm afraid you have to do it."

I inhaled and held my breath.

"There are people still trapped in this world. And the Corruption will keep spreading. You can't get it all, as you are, now. You'd have to tear up entire biomes to rid the world of Corruption. Defeat the Wall of Flesh and you will have access to the tools you'll need to set things right."

"Don't you want to live?" I asked.

"Of course. But, not in a Corrupt world. I'd rather die in the name of purifying it. I'm sure Steve felt the same way. Did he not send you down to the Underworld? He wanted you to defeat the Wall of Flesh as much as I do."

I fought my body, pleaded with my emotions, but nothing could stop me from crying. Ashamed, I resigned to hiding my face in my hands. Forid rubbed my back gently with one hand.

"I'm sorry. I would know if there was any other way. But, there isn't. You have to go back and try again."


	13. Chapter 13

Guys, be sure to read and review "Goodbye From A Guide" by StorytelLaur. It's a beautiful story and, somehow, only has 1 review.

The Terraria community on FanFiction is small, but we can help it grow by encouraging our writers to keep writing.

Speaking of, another big thank you to Alphy and V1ralGam3r for your support and encouragement!

* * *

"I can't do it," I said. Forid stiffened, his hand still on my back. "I can't kill you."

"You're not supposed to care so much," Joe informed me.

"How can you say that? You're a person!"

Joe gave me a look that Steve used to give me – an expression he wore when my logic was so far off that he couldn't even understand where I went wrong. How could I ever throw the voodoo doll knowing that, when it landed, this man would die? This man, who was patient and kind, like Steve, and so willing to throw his life away in the name of improving the lives of others.

"I guess, you're just not supposed to feel bad about it," Joe shrugged. "It's my purpose, after all."

"Purpose?" I grimaced. "You mean, like, destiny? I don't believe in that crap and I refuse to use it as an excuse to knowingly trigger someone's death. That's murder."

"Uh," the Guide sighed and scratched the back of his head. "I know it must be hard to understand, but there's a reason why a Guide must always exist." _You will always have a Guide_. "We have to be killed – at least one of us does, but probably more – because the Wall of Flesh has to be awakened and defeated."

"No. You say it like there's a God controlling this whole world. You say it like there's a finite set of rules to follow, in the world. But, look," I indicated Forid, "Arguably, his purpose was to kill me. But, we're allies, now. Friends, even. Can your reasons explain that?"

"Admittedly, King Slime's presence is an unexpected anomaly," Joe nodded, "and I have no explanation for it. However, the fact remains that my life is linked to the Underworld's keeper, and you have to defeat it to evolve the world. If you don't, the creatures of this plane will never be free.

"I meant it when I said that I would know if there was any other way. But, you can't be friends with the Wall of Flesh. And, even if you could, you'd still have to kill me to summon it. You don't have to believe in purpose, destiny, or reasons to understand that this needs to be done."

I stood still, seething, not at anyone in particular, just at the situation. I didn't have an argument, but it felt wrong, to me.

"Maybe you're just not feeling ready?" Joe suggested. "It would be understandable. You're dealing with the loss of a friend and the trauma of having seen the wall. While it does need to be defeated, there's no reason to rush into it. In fact, I would suggest that your world is not ready for it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, things are going to get harder, post-wall. Corruption will spread faster. New monsters will appear in every biome. There will be new bosses and new invaders."

"Steve mentioned this." Almost word for word, too.

"Then, did he mention that you can prepare your home for the changes that will take place?"

"I thought I was prepared."

"You are, physically, anyway. But you can do some extra work around the house until you're ready to make the sacrifice necessary to face the wall." Nice euphemism for kill my Guide. "For example, you can fish for crates, but don't open them until the post-wall ores have been unleashed.

"While fishing, keep any Bombfish you find and use them to create a chasm just beyond the borders of your home. If it goes all the way down to the Underworld, this place should be safe from invading Corruption.

"You can also build a subway. You're not going to find it easy to use your skybridge once the wall has fallen. A subway would be slightly safer and, best of all, assuming you were using railroads, it would be faster and easier than walking the distance.

"You'll need lots of Iron, and you'll have to do a lot of digging. But, until you're ready, these are productive tasks you can be doing."

I mulled his suggestions over in my mind. Would it be okay to put off fighting the Wall of Flesh? Alternately, would it be unwise to challenge it too soon? Protecting my home from Corruption, especially considering the forecasted faster rate at which it would spread, would be essential.

"This sounds good," I said, although still unsure. "What do you think, Forid?"

He looked at me and furrowed his brows in thought. He wasn't sure, either.

"It's probably your call more than anyone else's," Joe said. "Just make sure you're ready, and that will minimize fatalities." My stomach lurched at the idea that many Guides may die if I continue to fail.

"In the meantime," I said, "Why don't you look into ways of waking the Wall of Flesh without human sacrifice?" Joe sighed and scrunched his eyes.

"Mensa, I promise there's no other way."

"It can't hurt to look, can it?"

"I promise you there's nothing. I have all the information – I've memorized most of it. There's no room for misinterpretation, there's no symbolism or hidden meanings."

"Just try, please."

"You think I haven't, already?" Joe asked in a low tone, scowling. "I promise you, I have. And there's nothing."

Forid and I exchanged glances, but I tried no more to convince the Guide.

* * *

Forid and I decided to split up. One of us would go fishing and the other, mining. Since Forid had no fishing rod, and the one I had was only sold by random Travelling Merchants, the task of fishing fell on me.

I was pulling fish bait out of one of the chests when I heard the Zombies, outside. I couldn't see how many there were, but it sounded like a lot. They were scratching at the front gate.

On an average night, I'd have stepped on the pressure plate to let them in before, like the gracious hostess I am, promptly cutting them to pieces. They were no match for me. They weren't even a threat to my villagers in the safety of their rooms. But, they were a nuisance.

But, apparently, this wasn't an average night. On this particular night, I was petrified, rooted.

The torch at the door reminded me of when Steve first instructed me on how to use wood and gel to make the light source. The hideous sounds emanating from the undead's rotting throats reminded me of the dread I felt when I thought they were all gone, but heard their distant moans and realized that there were many, many more to come.

I was so helpless, back then.

As time went on and I upgraded my equipment, I thought I would never feel so isolated and vulnerable, ever again. Bosses were felled. Biomes were conquered. Armies were wiped out. And, every time, it got easier.

Steve assured me that there was nothing currently existing stronger than my weapons and armour. And I assumed that meant that the world was ours. I didn't think the world would change. I didn't think there was a boss I couldn't beat – especially once Forid joined me.

But Forid and I were the defeated ones. And I lost my oldest friend.

The vulnerability was back. I could be defeated. It was me who was the easy opponent. What's worse, I could lose people. I could be alone, once more. And I could never speak to Steve, again.

The shrieking, outside, reached a crescendo, and I almost felt surrounded, like there were Zombies in the room with me. But, I was staring at the door, and it hadn't opened. No one would be in here.

A hand on my shoulder proved otherwise, and I instinctively screamed and jumped out of my skin.

Forid quickly retracted his hand and jumped back. Ironically, I startled him.

"Sorry," I said.

He shook his head and approached once more.

"Wait till morning?" he suggested, nodding at the gate.

"Oh, what? Because of those guys?" I forced a smile and opened the gate to kill the Zombies. There were only three. How I ever thought there were more was beyond me. I stepped back inside once they were dead, relieved at the silence. "They're annoying, but not much more."

He didn't smile back. Perhaps he knew a fake smile when he saw one. Or, perhaps he was faking a smile, too, but his eyes weren't smiling, if that makes sense, so I wouldn't know.

Yeah, if a smile's sincerity is determined through the eyes, then he definitely knew that mine was false, because he reached up and wiped a tear from my cheek.

"Ah," I looked down at the floor, embarrassed, "I'm pathetic."

"No," he said firmly, "We wait until morning." And he took my hand and practically dragged me to my room.

As Joe had said, there were productive tasks we could be doing. On an average night, Forid and I would be happy to occupy ourselves with such tasks. But, this wasn't an average night. On this particular night, we would not be found fighting Zombies or Demon Eyes. Forid wasn't in the mines, searching for ores. I wasn't at the beach or pond, fishing out crates. On this particular night, Forid and I could be found huddled together on the bed, clinging to each other like terrified children, afraid to sleep because we had nightmares, afraid of the dead because they were alive, afraid of the living because they could die, afraid to do anything more than to cherish what we had not yet lost.

* * *

A reminder to read and review "Goodbye From A Guide" by StorytelLaur. :)


	14. Chapter 14

Today, I'm going to recommend the fic "Subterra" by Punished 'Dread' Angel. I very much enjoyed his first chapter – and he's posted a second one. If you want to see a Guide that kicks ass and a player with a deadly, deadly curse, check it out.

Many thanks, once again, to V1ralGam3r and Alphy for their input. :) You guys make my day! :D

* * *

After our routine zero hours of sleep, I was feeling considerably better. Forid and I gathered up our gear and headed to trapdoor in the kitchen that led to the mine.

"Come back straight away if you need anything," I told him. He humoured me, nodding. "And stay away from the Underworld, for now, if you can. Oh! And, maybe, you should bring this."

I handed over my Shadow Orb, but he didn't take it.

"I won't need it," I assured him, "I'm only fishing. I know it's not the greatest light pet, but it's better than nothing. And I can get another one, if that's what you're worried about."

He took it, and I ignored the celebration my heart held in honour of his fingers barely brushing mine.

"Make sure you have some Healing Potions on you – and maybe some food. I have some extra Ironskin Potions, if you want. If you come back at lunch, I'll make some food."

He put a firm hand on my shoulder and gave me a look that clearly said "Stop." Then, he smiled, waved, and went down the trapdoor. I watched as he closed it and descended down the rope, wishing I could go with him, or that he didn't have to go, or that I wasn't wishing for any of those things.

"He'll be fine," Jarut assured me. I jumped. I didn't remember he was there.

"You're right," I told him, and left through the back door to catch some crates.

* * *

Fishing was uneventful, for the most part. My imp took care of any ascending crabs that threatened to pinch me. Timmy joined me, and I was surprised to find myself glad of his company. He sat next to me, fishing with a Golden Fishing Rod.

"Let me know if you catch a Clownfish," he said.

"Clownfish?"

"Yeah. It's this bright orange and colourful fish that lives in the ocean. I saw it looking around frantically as though it was seeking a lost family member."

"That's kind of sad," I remarked.

"Well, if we catch it, maybe another one will show up looking frantically for him, instead!" Timmy grinned at me.

"If you say so," I said, smiling back at him. My line went taught and I reeled in a Wooden Crate.

"Hey! Are you using a Crate Potion?" Timmy asked, accusingly, "You lessen the chance of catching my fish!"

"I'm sorry," I said, but I chuckled. "I have to. These crates will be useful after I beat the next boss."

"Oh," Timmy said. "Then, I'll give my crates to you."

"You'd do that?"

"Uhuh. And then you can focus on catching my fish."

I laughed. Wow, that felt good.

"Thanks," I said.

We watched our lines, peacefully, for a minute. I had never seen the kid so still and so quiet. I guess that's why fishing is his passion. It was nice to see his good side, after all those weeks of him bugging me about fish.

"Why isn't King Slime, here?" he said, tugging on the line, a little. "You know, the other day, I asked him to catch me a Slime Fish, but I think he just kept it for himself."

"He is the king of Slimes," I pointed out to him. "But, he doesn't have a Fishing Rod."

"Ohhhh," Timmy nodded. "Are you going to marry him?"

"Marry him?" I sputtered.

"Yeah. Isn't that why you built the chapel?" I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was messing with me.

"No, that's not why."

"But, are you going to marry him?" he pressed.

"We're not even dating, so I have no idea why you're asking this," I said, scowling at the ocean. So much for seeing the kid's pleasant side.

"But it's obvious that he has a crush on you," Timmy said – rather nonchalantly, considering the weight of his words. I always worried that my crush on the king was obvious, but I never dreamed that he might also like _me_ in that way. Certainly not to an _obvious_ degree.

"It is?" I asked. "Really?"

"No, not really," Timmy smirked, "but, since you say that, it's obvious that you have a crush on him!"

"Uhuh," I said with fake sarcasm. I didn't really have the heart to deny it. "If you say so."

"See? You're agreeing with me!" Timmy reeled in his line and pointed a finger at me, cackling like a maniac.

"Whatever you say," I said, laughing, once more. Okay, so Timmy could be entertaining, sometimes. I had no idea how he could find so much amusement in my personal life.

"You're in love with King Slime," Timmy insisted.

I shook my head, smiling. I figured fewer words were more effective than more, in this situation.

"And with the Guide." That caught me off guard.

"Steve?" I asked, "We were just friends." I was absolutely sure of that.

"Or Joe."

"I don't even know Joe."

"He's like Steve, only his name is Joe."

"Yeah," I said, chalking this up to childish oversimplification, "but they are still two different people. Like, Steve was the first villager you ever met besides me, not Joe. Joe wasn't there for the water fight, but Steve was."

"If you say so," Timmy said.

"It's true," I told him. He'd get it, someday.

I caught his Clownfish, and he traded it for some crates, gold, and bait. Then, to switch things up, we went to the pond. It was the same pond Forid had trapped himself in. We sat on the edge of the stone steps I'd made and let our lines dangle into the water, below. A wooden staircase led down to the water so that Forid and I, with our Lava Waders, could climb up, easily.

"A Slime!" Timmy exclaimed as a Blue Slime floated over the water to meet us. "A Sli-ime!"

"Don't worry about it," I told him. "They're friendly, now, remember?"

Indeed, the slime climbed up the steps, but otherwise ignored us, taking off in a different direction.

"Oh yeah!" he chirped, relaxing on the stairs, again. "Maybe your _boyfriend_ sent it to spy on you!"

"I told you," I said, "we're not dating."

"But you wish that you were, don't you?" Timmy teased. Wow, he was worse than every villager combined.

Despite that, I enjoyed our time, together. Timmy was a good kid. Clever, energetic, mischievous, but good. I probably would continue to avoid him due to his insistence that I drop everything I'm doing and go fishing. But, maybe I'd take him with me whenever I specifically went fishing.

Joe stopped by in the late afternoon to let us know that Forid had returned.

"Ah, he might be wanting lunch," I said, standing and stretching.

"That's a late lunch," Joe pointed out. I checked the time. It was just past 3 p.m.. He had been gone for about ten hours.

"Well, I should check on him," I said. "Do you guys want to eat, too?" I offered. Joe and Timmy agreed to a late lunch.

When we arrived in the storage room, Forid was sorting the materials he found in the chests. He looked up and waved.

"Hey," I said, taking a peek at what he found. Ores galore! Well, mostly Iron, but that was what we were after. I wouldn't be able to count and refine them all, right now. "Thank you for doing that. Are you hungry? We were planning on having lunch in the dining room."

He waited for Timmy and Joe to leave.

"Sure," he said.

"Great, I'll meet you up there. I'm just going to make the food."

I went to the kitchen to cook. Given that I had been fishing, all day, I made Cooked Fish and Sashimi, remembering that Forid said he liked Sashimi.

Joe entered as I was preparing the food.

"Mensa," he greeted and I nodded, "I wanted to say thank you. I've arrived under very unpleasant circumstances, but you've made me feel welcome. Not everyone notices when a new villager shows up."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "We're such a small community that we always notice when there's a newcomer. Anyway, I'm glad that you're making yourself at home and please let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, again," Joe smiled. He looked at the massive amount of fish I was dealing with. "Do you want help with that?"

"No, thanks. I'll be up in a minute."

Joe nodded and walked upstairs to the dining room. To be honest, I didn't want to spend any more time alone with him. He behaved so much like Steve, but I was completely uncomfortable with that. It's not that I thought Steve would be bothered by it, since he was dead, but I was bothered with the idea that I might be tempted to replace Steve with Joe.

The trouble with that was that Joe hadn't earned what Steve had. Steve was there on the first night. He spent his first night huddled in a dirt hole with only a torch. Joe arrived and was immediately housed in the castle. Steve was there to help me with the Eye of Cthulhu, King Slime, the Eater of Worlds, Skeletron, and Queen Bee. Joe would only be here until I challenged the Wall of Flesh.

I could see why Timmy couldn't distinguish the difference between them. Joe was so similar to Steve in so many ways, but he didn't have any of the shared memories that I had with Steve.

In time, we might have become close friends, too. But, right now, I needed time to deal with Steve's demise in a healthy way. And the horrible reality was that Joe and I would never get the same amount of time to bond, because I was going to kill him as soon as I was ready to fight the wall.

I heard footsteps and the voices of Scarlett, Bambi, and Rupert as they came upstairs from the downstairs wing and realized I was just standing there instead of preparing lunch. I was sure to look busy before they could see me.

"Are you coming to lunch, Mensa?" Scarlett called.

"Yep!" I said, holding up the finished fish and forcing a smile – a smile that they bought and hurried me upstairs.

The dining room was packed, again. I was glad to see that the villagers were more inclined to spend time together, rather than isolating themselves to their rooms, as they used to do at the old house. In the heart of it all was Bambi, making sure everyone was seated and having a good time.

There was other food. Alalia and Koghi-gi lived close to the garden and they brought pumpkin pie. Wilbur brought Sake and Pad Thai, bragging that he bought them off of a Travelling Merchant at a steal of a price. With my two dishes added in, we had a pretty impressive potluck going on.

Jamal, Jenna, and Forid wanted me to sit at their table, so I brought a few plates of Sashimi over for us to share.

"I can't say I've ever tried this," Jenna said sceptically.

Forid gave her a cheerful thumbs up and pulled down his mask to eat. We stared at him, shocked that he had so casually revealed what he had been stealthily hiding until now – his face. But, he was hungry, and there wasn't really another way around the fabric.

Jamal was the first to clear his throat to get Jenna's and my attention.

"So, Mensa," he said, "Jenna and I were thinking that you built the red house large enough that we could have a double date." He put food in his mouth, but kept talking, much to my dismay. "So, you know, you just gotta chose a date and the four of us can hang out." He gestured around the room, but not-so-subtly looked pointedly at Forid.

"Jamal," I shook my head, "You're an excellent Gun Dealer, but the idea of spending hours with you in one room is just the worst."

Jenna giggled and Forid snorted. Jamal looked unimpressed and elbowed Forid, who quickly went back to eating.

We spent the rest of lunch debating whether guns or explosives were more deadly. Having been in close range of a grenade detonation, I was more inclined to believe in explosives as the more lethal weapons, but Jamal wasn't having it.

"Bombs, at least, are versatile, too," I said. I wasn't nearly as invested in this conversation as Jamal was, but I enjoyed seeing him so riled up. "Let's say someone is trapped in a mine. I can use a bomb to blast away the rubble."

"Yeah, but you might blast away the person, too," Jamal, "that's too dangerous."

"So, you admit that explosives are the more dangerous weapon?"

"No!" The Gun Dealer growled. I burst out into laughter at the angry look on his face. So, this is why people tease each other.

The room was clearing out. Jenna stood to leave with the other girls. Jamal clapped Forid on the back, which I thought was oddly familiar for someone who wanted vengeance on him for ruining his date, but I supposed somewhere between throwing Love and Stink Potions and having a whole new room built, he got over it. Joe approached our table.

"What's up?" I asked. He didn't look nearly as happy as he had going to lunch.

"I noticed that you had another house built in a forest…" he said, looking around him as though afraid someone was listening. "I was wondering if you'd mind if I moved in, there."

"That's pretty far," I said.

"I think I would prefer to be alone."

"What? Why?" I didn't mind if he wanted to be alone. I couldn't even imagine how hard it must have been to deal with knowing how short your life span is. But, if something else was bothering him, I'd want to know. "Are the villagers being…"

"No, the villagers are fine. I like them. But…" he scowled, "but some of the things they say are pretty twisted."

"Twisted?"

"Nevermind. Look, I do like them. I just think it would be better if I had some space to deal with this my own way."

"Okay," I said. "I'll be sure to visit every now and then, unless you don't want me to."

"No, I think I'd like that," Joe gave a small smile.

He packed some food and, with a final goodbye, walked out the front gate.

I hated to admit it, but I was relieved to see him go.

* * *

Reminder to read and review "Subterra" by Punished 'Dread' Angel.

Oh, and I'm posting screenshots and artwork from this story on Deviantart. If you wanna check it out, my username is Namu-KY, and I have a Terraria gallery set up.


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